Foray – a Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic Underground crossover
3 – Allegro
Notes: Sorry about the wait. Life attacked me with every lemon it had. Big thanks to everyone who PM'd and pestered me. Makes me write faster, ya'know? Thanks for all of the reviews too. You guys are awesome!
WARNINGS: The events of Sonic 3 & Knuckles are glossed over quite a bit because I assumed everyone knows what goes down. New narrative style – second person. You have fair warning. (I love second person; favorite style.) This chapter starts the weaving plot lines. Pay attention; take notes if you must; there might be a quiz. Oh, and this thing is freakin' long. Have you noticed?
Enjoy and happy holidays~!
*Modulation:*:Trémolo*
When Aleena first mentions a floating island, Manic is tempted to laugh her off.
She is clearly getting her myths confused with real life. But then he remembers the magical medallion hanging around his neck, the unnatural strength his sister has, and the speed that his brother had reached at a 'jog,' and he decides to give her the benefit of the doubt.
They are sitting in Manic's bedroom when she brings it up. The room is the smallest in the palace – so, in all actuality, it's pretty big, considering that he used to live in a bus – with the generic large central, canopied bed, and imperial air. The whole room is snooty, in Manic's opinion, with pictures of people he doesn't recognize past the familiar shape of their faces on the walls, large thick curtains that are only useful in that they look very dramatic when thrown open, and gold fringes the edges of the sheets, just because they can. However, despite all of this, the room is his. The curtains may be cumbersome and unnecessary considering how high above the ground the room is, but he has modified them into a sort-of hammock, enabling him to sit in the dip of the windowpane, creating a hanging bay window. The bookshelf taking up a whole wall is stacked with dusty tomes, written long ago by stuffy mobians – most of them probably related to him – and he has taken to occupying himself by organizing them by size, color, height, title, and author name. So far, the only one that looks cracked is a simple book entitled something equally simple. 'Chaos Theory' is something that he's never heard of, but for some reason, his medallion thrummed when he touched the book. The dark green book is laying open, pages down, on the nightstand, and Aleena runs her fingers down it as she walks in.
Manic is ill. He has been sequestered to his bedroom for the duration of his sickness, doctor's orders. The boy looks tiny in his bed, covers pulled up to his chin, shivers rippling through his body at steady intervals, and coughs coming and going without warning. Aleena's mothering instinct rages at her for allowing him to degrade into this state, and she pads across the room, her steps silent on the plush carpet of his room. She steps over discarded socks, tools, blueprints, and a spare pair of drumsticks before she reaches his bedside. He gazes at her with huge red-ringed eyes, and she drops to sit next to him, sinking into the soft mattress.
"How are you doing, darling?" The question is more of a courteous gesture than a curious one; it's pretty obvious how he's doing.
"Can't sleep." His answer is clipped, annoyed, and the look he sends her lacks the usual fire, but it still pretty scalding. "Wish I could get up."
"I'm sorry, Manic, but you need to rest. Do you want me to get you something?"
He huffs, crossing his arms. "No, the maid lady won't leave me alone about that. I just need to be left alone."
"You've been cooped up in here for days. I think you've been alone enough."
The boy rolls his eyes, but doesn't offer a response past that.
"Would you like me to tell you a story?"
"I'm not five, Ma."
"Yes, but I haven't gotten the chance to tell you a bedtime story yet. Indulge your mother?"
Her face is an open, mixed expression of depression and expectant excitement, and the refusal dies on his tongue. "Sure." The reply isn't nearly as suffering sounding as he expects it to be, and he gives himself a few brownie points for effort. The look on her face is Christmas-come-early and he can't help but smile back. "Gimmie your best."
"Okay." Her voice is practically giddy and she settles deeper into the mattress, getting comfortable for the duration of her tale. "How about the one about the Floating Island? Have you ever heard it?" He shakes his head and she grins. "Well then, you better get comfy, because it's a good one."
Manic makes a show of propping his pillow against the headboard and then leaning back against it. When he is comfortable, he nods to her and she plunges right it, waving her hands around for emphasis.
"The Floating Island is a place of mystery. Few have seen it in living memory, and even less know about it. It used to be the home of an ancient civilization, and when an unknown force attacked them, they took to the sky. There is no explanation for their floating home, and no real record of what happened after they disappeared into the clouds, but many believe that they are still up there, watching over us."
Manic expression is dubious, and he coughs once before speaking. "A floating island, Ma? You can't believe this…"
"I've seen it, Manic dear. I was friends with the Guardian."
Manic's manages to keep his mouth from dropping open in shock, and his mind ticks through that answer. The whole thing needs addressing really, but he decides to get some background info before letting her ramble about what a giant floating island looks like. "Guardian?" His reply is properly interested with the barest hint of cynicism mixed in, and Aleena scowls at him.
"The Floating Island has a Guardian, someone who watches over it and keeps it in the sky. He is usually incredibly strong and brave – a true hero. The self-sacrifice needed to fulfill this ancient duty is commendable and impressive." Her tone is flat, as if she is reading out of a book, and Manic can't help but feel as if she has heard that speech many times.
"So, he's an isolated workaholic?"
Aleena chokes on her response. "M-Manic! What?!" He opens his mouth to respond, but she cuts him off. "You know what, never mind. I guess I should be happy you're making jokes; you must be feeling better."
The prince shrugs. "A bit. Your story helped… Though, it wasn't much of a story – more a book report." He has returned to the dubious voice, and she frowns and stands.
"You don't believe me." It isn't a question and he doesn't bother to correct her. She is his mother after all; that kind of thing might get him grounded. "Well, ye of little faith," the queen crosses the room in a few quick strides and skirt swishes, "I happen to know that there is a book in your private library here that explains all about it." She hops onto the rolling ladder attached to the bookcases and it slides a few feet down the wall before coming to a stop. She deems this the perfect place and scales upward a couple rungs before running her gloved fingers down the spines of a few books. "Aha!" She grabs a book from between the others and slides off of the ladder, landing with barely a sound. Suddenly, Manic realizes where Sonic got his smooth, quick movements from.
The queen stalks back to her son, and she holds the large tome out to him. "Here, nonbeliever, educate yourself." The boy takes it, and his arms collapse under its weight. It crashes into his lap and he winces. His mother raises an eyebrow at him, and his eyes narrow in response.
Quickly (falsely) attributing his inability to hold up what is essentially a bunch of paper to sickness, he pushes the book onto the bed. "How'd you know where it was? I haven't touched that shelf yet."
"This used to be my room, Manic, when I was young like you. All of those books were mine once, though I've given them to you, obviously." She shrugs at his flabbergasted expression. "Treat them well. I picked them all out with care."
"You read all of these?"
"Of course. A queen must be well educated. Besides," she is quick to add, "I didn't have many friends. Your grandfather didn't believe in royalty leaving the palace unless absolutely necessary, especially the crown princess. The future had to be preserved, he believed."
That strikes a chord in Manic, and he flinches. "Sonic wouldn't have gotten along with him." The answer is straight, without emotion, but the mother still looks at him sadly.
"Your brother did what was absolutely necessary to make the future possible." She pauses, reaching out and laying her hand on his head. He is warm, but not in the worrisome way of the feverish. This warmth is life, hope, proof that she still has children to survive for, and she smiles weakly at him. "I think he would have gotten along perfectly with your grandfather." She bends down and presses her lips to his forehead, and he leans into the gesture, wrapping his arms around her middle.
"Get some rest, my dear," she commands softly as she pulls away. "I need to go make sure Sonia hasn't killed Bartleby."
"All right." As she turns to go, he looks down at the book. "Oh, and Ma." When she turns to look back at him, the light streaming in through the window flowing through her long hair and illuminating her face, he catches his breath. He is biased like all children, but his mother is probably one of the most beautiful people he has ever seen. "Thanks for the story. And the book."
Her smile brightens his whole day. "Anytime Manic. I'm here."
Finally, I'm here.
o0o
~Syncopation::Missed Beat~
When the metal ship lands on your Island, you have no idea what to think. The 'Giant, Metal Orb Crash' was never covered in your training, and the Master Emerald makes no warning action against it, so you have no reason to attack it.
This doesn't stop you, and you attack it anyway.
You operate on a punch-first-ask-questions-after-intruders-have-bee n-flung-off-the-island mentality, so you figure that will suffice perfectly in this situation. It works for everything else, after all.
So, when you slam your first into the metal of the ship thing, and it does nothing but reverberate through the hull, you are dumbfounded. Seconds later, a man emerges from the ship, and you have to fight to keep the shock off your face.
You have never seen a human before – well, to be fair, you haven't seen anyone except your grandfather before – but you immediately decide that they have to be one of the ugliest things on the planet. The eyes are incredibly small, the nose is freakily pushed into the face, and the ears… They are like satellite dishes. (You have no idea how you know what satellite dishes are, but the comparison is a good one.) This particular human is round, and you have no idea if the whole species is this way, but you decide to assume they are for the time being.
The human calls out to you in a language you don't recognize and you resist the urge to hit him.
"I do not understand." The answer is clipped in your deep tone, and the man blinks at you.
"Ah, you speak Mobian! I apologize, fated Guardian, and offer my humble greetings." Somehow, the human manages to bow and you cock an eyeridge.
"I have no need of your human languages." Your hands fist at your sides, and you watch as the man rises back to his full height. "Why are you here?"
"I have, unfortunately, crash landed here because of a great menace threatening the surface. You see, there is this hedg—"
"Get to the point," you demand, tapping your foot.
The man's jaw pulls into an annoyed expression, and you swear there is a vein throbbing his forehead. "Very well. There is a blue hedgehog headed here, and he wishes to steal the source of your Island's magic."
"The Master Emerald?!" you gasp, and the briefest of emotions flashes across the human's face. You are unable to pinpoint what exactly it is before he speaks again.
"Yes, the Master Emerald," he weighs the words as he says them, but you barely notice. "I am here to offer my protection."
You stare at this human, watching his movements. He is openly facing you, not turned away as if shielding himself, and you cast your senses out toward the Master Emerald. It hums against your probe, not warning against malevolence, and you decide that a little help wouldn't hurt. "Who are you, human?"
"I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and you?"
"Knuckles," you answer, "Guardian of Angel Island."
o0o
…:Mezzo:…
When Tails first mentioned a floating island, Sonic was tempted to laugh him off.
But, when Tails took him up there, and the hedgehog laid eyes on it, he choked on his proverbial laughter and nearly died of shock.
For some reason, when he heard the words 'floating island' he figured it would have been a small chunk of mobius floating above the planet, not a full landmass. Floating land wasn't that uncommon, especially on the islands down south, but the island with a full mini-ocean and beach and snow-topped mountains and was that a volcano…? Sonic couldn't really come up with a word to explain it. Bizarre wasn't enough, and strange was laughably clichéd.
Freakishly strangely bizarrely unusual was close.
"I believe you, Tails!" he called toward his friend, cupping his hands over his mouth. Tails' ears flicked at him to let him know he had been heard, but didn't reply past that. The plane was being buffeted by the wind this high up, and he was struggling to keep it steady enough for Sonic to remain standing. The hedgehog turned his body so he was standing with his side to the front of the plane, allowing the wind to ruffling through his quills. The change in direction allowed for a more streamlined ride and let Sonic get a good look at the fox and the sky in front of them.
Tails had his hands curled around the control stick, eyes narrowed into the wind, and Sonic made a mental note to get him a pair of goggles the next time he had a chance. The plane jerked under his feet, and Tails overcompensated to keep the hedgehog from tumbling off, sending the blue hero stumbling to his knees.
"Sorry Sonic!"
The hedgehog didn't hear him because the Emeralds stored safely stored in his quills flared to life as soon as his knees impacted, engulfing him in a blaze of gold. He barely had time to compute what was going on before he was rocketing forward, away from the plane. He managed to blink once before his mind informed him that he had turned into Super Sonic and he jerked to a stop, yanking his body around to make sure his sudden departure hadn't messed up anything with the Tornado.
Luckily, Tails was following him at a good clip. The plane seemed fine, despite the huge amount of Chaos Energy that had just erupted on its top wing, and he floated for a few seconds before pointing his body toward his friend. A golden flash rocketed toward the red biplane, and circled around it once before coming to fly just in front of it. The Emeralds hummed happily at Sonic, urging him to hurry to the Island, speaking straight to the energy in his body. His blood thrummed in his veins, trying to push him even faster toward their destination and he obliged.
He managed to pick up a decent amount of speed by the time he blasted across the beach and then through the forest. He was barely aware as Tails broke off to land the plane, and didn't even notice as his body swerved around a tree without conscious prompting. He was just on the fringe of the sound barrier, the wind licking at his quills, yanking him back, and he smirked before pressing forward. He soared.
Until he crashed into a spiked fist. The impact was equivalent to a truck hitting a solid wall, and he heard his nose and jaw crunch in the impact. Luckily for him, the Emeralds protected him from any real damage, and he was sure that his whole face would have been broken without their interference. He was thrown backward, and he landed on his backside, every atom of air in his lungs escaping in a mass exodus that left his head spinning. The Emeralds exploded out of him, scattering in sparkling flashes, and if he hadn't been too busy gasping and cursing, he was sure he would have felt his connection with them sever.
He barely noticed as the owner of the fist – nothing more than a red blob with giant white hands – collected the Emeralds without a care in the world. In the time it took his iron fist'd adversary to stalk around him and pick all of them up, Sonic managed to convince his head to stop imitating a demented merry-go-round, and he leveraged his elbows into the ground to prop himself up in time to see the crimson mobian-like-thing (he wasn't exactly what species this creature was) throw its head back and laugh, voice way too deep to be female.
"Yeah, haha," Sonic laughed dryly as Tails flew his way in, eyeing the situation warily. Instead of saying anything, he simply helped Sonic to his feet, keeping his eyes on the red Emerald swiper. "You're a downright comedian, whoever you are. Give those back, will you?"
"Get off my Island!" The rebuttal nearly overlapped Sonic's statement, and his ears snapped downward at the slight.
"Chillax, red dude. I'll leave if you give me my Emeralds ba—"
"Your Emeralds? Haha! These rightfully belong to me, Guardian of Angel Island!"
"What are you talking abo— Hey! Get back here!"
The red thing turned tail and darted off without warning and Sonic shared a quick glance with Tails before taking off after him. After about two seconds of this however, it became apparent that the Guardian of Angle Triangle or whatever had disappeared.
"Well, this is great," Sonic mumbled, coming to a stop and rubbing his hand up and down his face. "We've been mugged by a bright red thing with dreadlocks," he paused before adding, "that apparently can turn invisible."
"You were mugged, Sonic. I was with the plane."
"I mean, did you hear that guy? I don't think he could understand a word I said." Tails' reply went completely unnoticed as Sonic was too far gone in his tirade. "Did he even have ears?"
"Oh, look, a badnik," Tails called unenthusiastically, pointing at a fast, pig-like robot moving toward them. "Kill it Sonic. It'll make you feel better."
"—where does he get off stealing the Emeralds from me? Didn't he see that I was using the— Hey! A badnik! One sec kid, lemme fix this."
Tails' expression could have leveled mountains.
o0o
~Syncopation::Suspension~
You don't like Dr. Robotnik.
But, you like that blue punk even less.
How dare he come prancing onto your Island? Abusing the power of the Emeralds, on top of that! And then he has the gall to claim the Emeralds as his. Ha, you showed him. His grandkids probably felt that punch.
And that kid. What was he? Were two tails normal on the surface? You don't think so, because the few mobians that you've caught glimpses of seem pretty normal; well, at least by your standards. That blue hedgehog seemed pretty unusual too, all things considered. How could blue be an evolutionary choice? There was no hiding from predators with blue fur.
Of course, your red fur can't hold a candle against that argument, so you give him a pass on that. At least the fox thing is a normal color.
"What did you do with the Chaos Emeralds?" the human asks when you stalk back to his ship, glowering and fuming. His question sets off another round of anger, and you swing at a helpless plant, swiping it with your large hand.
"They're in the Special Zones. Your blue freak won't be able to get them. Those Zones are impossible to navigate."
In all actuality, you had intended to take the Emeralds to the Master to check them for contamination and tampering, but the stones had had their own plans. As soon as you had broken away from the hedgehog and fox, they had flown out of your hands and into the air before disappearing in flashes of lights. You had panicked for half of a second before the Master sent you a pulse of reassurance. You checked a Warp Ring, and it was active, so it was pretty obvious that the Emeralds had returned home.
"You put them where? How do you think he got them in the first place, lying around?"
Your eyeridge twitches at his tone and your curl a hand into a fist, clearly making a threatening gesture. "Do not question me, human. I can still throw you off of this Island." You pause, examining a rip in your gloves. "Without your flying machine."
The man's face pales considerably. He knows that the threat isn't empty and that he's still here only because of your good graces. Good, you have him exactly where you want him.
"Uh," Dr. Robotnik coughs, meekly taking a few steps away from you. "Shall I set up some defenses around the Master Emerald? We wouldn't want Sonic to get his hands on it."
Your eyes narrow and you don't answer for a few seconds, instead opting to stare at him. He squirms. "The Master Emerald is hidden in a place only I know about. You don't need to see it."
"Well, yes but—"
"No."
And that is that.
o0o
*Modulation:*:Trill*
When Manic reemerges from his bedroom, it is with perfect health and a well of knowledge. He has spent a week reading the book his mother handed him, and he feels like his brain is going to explode from the strain all of the information. He had to constantly cross-reference it with the Chaos Theory book he started weeks ago, because the two were so closely interwoven, to the point that Manic wondered if they were written by the same person.
He has been in his room for almost two weeks, and Sonia practically tackles him when she sees him for the first time. She has been unable to visit him – something about her health and lack of antibodies – and when she hugs him, Manic realizes that he missed her too, surprisingly. They have not spent that long away from each other since they met those months ago in that club, and he realizes, she has become a staple feature of his life – something to always expect and rely on.
Of course, now that she has more royal duties than him, they don't see as much of each other, but at least he can accompany her. With his sickness though, he had been forced into quarantine, with only the books and the occasional visit of his mother to keep him company.
"Don't get that sick ever again," Sonia whispers in his ear as she squeezes him. Her head is resting on his shoulder and her hair is tickling his ear, but he doesn't care. When he doesn't answer right away, she leans back and punches his shoulder. "Promise."
He winces and resists the urge to reach up and rub the sore spot. "Jeeze, I promise, sis. Give me a chance to think."
"You had enough time to think," she winks at him and then leans back in for another hug. "We have work to do." Her voice is conspiratorially low, and his ear raises a bit to hear her. "Meet me in my room tonight, at midnight."
He stiffens and suddenly becomes aware of Bartleby's eyes on his back – watching them. "Wha—" he starts, only to have Sonia squeeze a little harder. He can practically hear his spine creak at the force.
"Midnight Manic."
He sighs. He has only just gotten well and she already has a scheme cooked up. He feels a pang and is reminded of Sonic. This is exactly like something he would do. "Fine," he whispers back.
000
When Manic jiggles the door open at three minutes until midnight, he isn't shocked when Sonia reaches out as soon as the door opens and yanks him into the room. The lights are off, the windows open to allow moonlight in, and he finds himself blinking to allow his eyes to adjust. His sister is standing in front of him, dressed in full black with her quills pulled back into a tight ponytail. She glances over him once, lets out a suffering sigh at his bright orange vest and free quills, and stalks across the room to her closet. He quickly follows.
Her room is a lot bigger than his – almost twice the size if you include the closet – and it is a lot more extravagant. The walls have embellished designs, the bed is a four poster with an elaborate canopy designed with grandeur and privacy in mind, and there is no book case in sight. It is the perfect room for her – so very royal and rich.
"Here." He catches the heavy sweater with both hands, and he barely glances at it before he scowls at her. It is a midnight black color, and the knitting is so thick, he is sure he will be unable to move once he puts it on. "Don't give me that face, Manic. We need to blend in."
"I don't think wearing nothing but black is 'blending in' sis."
She plants her hands on her hips. "Stealth, Manic. That kind of blending in."
He sighs and shakes his head before shedding his vest and yanking the sweater on. It slides over the quills on his back, bending them uncomfortably and he sends her a suffering grimace. She quickly comes toward him and adjusts the fabric so the precut slits fit over his quills and he heaves a sigh of relief.
"Have no idea how you do this, sis. Clothes suck." She doesn't answer as she has stuck her head out the door and is looking down the hall. "You might want to tell me what exactly we're doing before you start to go ninja-stealth on me. I'm really bad at sneaking."
"Says the thief."
"Ex-thief."
"Whatever." She rolls her eyes. "We're going into the city to find out some information. I have a feeling that something's up."
Manic resists the urge to groan. "You have me up at midnight to go sneaking out of the palace on a hunch?"
She looks back at him with a bored expression. "I thought you would be all for this. I know you hate being cooped up in here."
"Well, I am, but the principle, Sonia."
"Manic," she pauses, searching for the correct word to describe him, "you're...contradictory."
"Yeah, well, you're a spiny annoying princess but you don't hear me calling names."
"Can we just go? The sooner we leave the sooner we get back."
"Lead the way, SAP."
000
It is a small chore to escape the palace unnoticed. They have to do a bit of running, shadow dodging, and rolling, but they eventually manage it. The guards are laughingly unaware of what's going on around them. Manic is positive that he could have walked through with a blinking neon sign and they still wouldn't have noticed him. When they reach the walls, they stand at the base and look up at the darkening sky.
"Well, this is huge roadblock. C'mon Sonia, let's go back in." Manic turns to do just that, but his sister grabs the back of his shirt and yanks him back with enough force to choke him. He scowls and adds this to the growing list of reasons for him to never ever wear clothes again.
"You think I didn't plan for the wall, Manic? I'll throw you over and climb up after."
"Wait wait, Sonia. Did you just say throw? Do I look like a hedge-pigeon to you?"
"No, but you're starting to sound like a hedge-chicken."
Manic heaves a sigh. "Why can't we just go to the gate?"
"Scott's on patrol. You know how serious he is about following Mother's orders."
The green hedgehog scowls. Scott is one of the few guards that actually takes his job seriously. With Robotnik gone, there is no threat to Mobius and most of the guards are young and inexperienced, so they don't really know what they're doing. Scott, on the other hand, is the new head of the Guard, one of the few remaining of the original guards who served with Argus. He knows what it is like to be a real guard, and won't let them out even if they order him.
Manic glances up at the towering wall and changes tactics. "Why can't we go tomorrow?"
The pink female heaves a suffering sigh. "Tomorrow I'm going with Mother to the lower provinces to check out exactly what's going on."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"You'll be in charge until we get back."
Manic laughs, loud and brusque. "Good one Sonia." He catches sight of the expression on her face and his laughter chokes off. "You're jokin' right?"
"Afraid not Manic."
"But, but, Sonia, I can't—"
"Can we talk about this later? We have work to do."
"Yeah fine. Just throw me over already. Maybe I'll break my neck and won't have to face tomorrow."
"That's the spirit." She laces her fingers together and kneels down so he can put his foot in her palms. He does so with a bit of trepidation. "Put your hands on my head." She tightens her grip on his foot, creating a cradle with her fingers, and digs her feet into the dirt. "When I toss you up, I need you to clench your body so you won't hit the wall. When you land, try to pull a Sonic and curl into a ball, okay?"
"Clench and ball." He smirks, looking down at her. "I hope you don't talk to Bartleby like that, sis."
She huffs and rolls her eyes. "You're such a boy. You ready?"
"Clenched and prepared for takeoff—aaaaah!" Sonia heaves, and he soars into the air. His arms and legs flail outward, not at all following her instructions, and he goes over the wall as a clump of screaming, thrashing green fur. She scowls when he lands with a thump.
"Ow."
The princess looks up at the sky and takes a deep breath. "Bet you're enjoying the show, huh Sonic?" There is no response and she shakes her head before hooking her fingers into the stone and heaving herself up, hand over hand, until she reaches the top. She lands on the ground seconds later and yanks Manic to his feet.
"Ow," he repeats, just for her benefit.
000
They city is dark. All of the windows are shuttered and the only signs of life are the streetlights, but even they seem to be hiding in the dark. Everyone is safely in their homes, deeply ingrained instincts from Robotnik's reign still dictating their every move. Night is a dangerous time; a time when people would disappear from the streets.
Manic and Sonia pad quietly down the sidewalk. The whole city is silent. Even their steps seem muffled in the hush.
"What's up with everyone?" Manic ventures into the quiet. Sonia jumps and spins around to glare at him.
"I don't know," she answers when he holds his hands up in a placating gesture. "Though it is late. Maybe everyone's asleep."
"Everyone?" The boy's tone is dubious and he cocks an eyebrow. "Usually cities like this are alive at all times, or, at least, that's what I've heard."
"Where'd you hear that?"
"Sonic told me once…"
Sonia turns again to stare at him. "How did Sonic know that? He never left Robotropolis before he met us."
"How did Sonic know a lot of stuff, sis? He just did."
She huffs and rolls her eyes but doesn't say anything more. Instead, she chooses to flatten her ears against the wind and smooth down her dark trench coat.
They walk along silently for a few more minutes before Manic speaks again. "So, what exactly are we looking for?"
"Anything suspicious," Sonia replies in a guarded tone. "Anything that wouldn't usually be on the streets late at night…" She cranes her head back and forth. "Like that old man!" Her hand suddenly snakes out and points straight at an elderly mobian toddling his way down the sidewalk opposite of them. She takes off toward him, her coattails flapping behind her.
"You and I have very different definitions of 'suspicious,' sis." Manic's voice is low and he turns dejectedly on his heel to follow her, making sure look both ways before crossing the street. "And way to heed traffic, princess."
He reaches Sonia and the man seconds later, but that is just enough time for his sister to go into full out interrogation mode. He interrupts her question of 'where were you on the evening of two Saturdays ago?'.
"Sonia, chill. You can't just take flight because there's some guy walking on a public sidewalk."
"Hush Manic, I'm trying to talk to this nice man. Now, tell me agai—"
"Sonia—" The boy tries to stop her, but he is interrupted by an old, decrepit voice.
"Oh, it's quite all right, young man. I was just about to invite your lovely friend here in for a cup of tea. It's not suitable for a young lady such as herself to be out and about alone at this hour."
"I'll have you know I can take care of myse—"
"Um, I don't think we really want some tea right now. Thanks for offerin—"
"Oh, I insist. Do come in. I haven't had visitors in a long time." He turns to a door that is half set into a wall, cleverly hidden. Manic blinks, mentally scolding himself for allowing this old geezer to frighten him.
"C'mon Manic, it won't hurt. Maybe he can answer some of our questions." Sonia is already through the door, so Manic has no choice really. He mumbles a few choice words before following her.
o0o
*Modulation:*:Lyricism*
"Mommy!" a tiny, high pitched voice yelled, and Aleena looked up from her reports just in time to see the doors to her private meeting room burst open. The finance minister sitting across from her jerked in his seat as a small pink blur darted into the room and burrowed its way into the queen's skirts. "Sonic and Manic are being mean!"
The woman tsked, sending the minister a suffering smile, before bending down and pulling the skirt-mole into her lap. The only princess of Mobius squealed as she was lifted into the air, and she giggled when her mother sent her a huge smile. "What're your brothers up to now?"
"Sonic keeps stealing my doll and running away!" she tattled, crossing her arms and pouting adorably. The finance minister chuckled. "And when I chase him to get it back, Manic throws bugs on me!"
The queen sighed and her ears rose as a round of faint chuckles filtered in through the cracked door. She turned just in time to see a small blue and tan face peak around the door, bright eyes wide. Her eldest had a cheeky smile on his face, and it widened when he caught her looking at him. She sent him a good natured glare and he ducked away. Seconds later, a green head replaced his, and he squeaked when he realized that Aleena was watching.
"Sonic!" she heard him whine to his brother. "Momma can see us!"
"I know, Manic! Be quiet!"
"Boys," she called with a touch of warning. This hissing conversation ceased. "Come in here please."
It took a few seconds of arguing over who would be first before Manic eventually padded in, head downcast and face subdued, the perfect remorseful child. Sonic followed him moments later, blowing through the doors in a ball and bouncing off the table right in front of the finance minister. However, his young mind wasn't nearly coordinated enough for him to comprehend landing, and he crashed onto the table on his belly. He was a resilient child however, and he quickly scrambled to a sitting position on the edge of the table right in front of his mother. He leaned toward his sister, grinning hugely.
"Sonic," Aleena began when Sonia started to squirm at his unwavering stare. "What have you been up to?"
"Nothing, Mom." His answer was quick, and she set him with a knowing look. "Sonia's a tattle-tell." He must have decided to cut his losses, considering how his sister was smiling winningly at him. "We just wanted to play with her…"
"I don't want to play with you!" the girl argued back, crossing her arms. "You're mean and you two always team up against me!"
"Well, duh. You're a girl." This was said like it was the most obvious argument in the world. "And it's no fun with only two of us. Mom had three kids for a reason."
Aleena choked on her laughter, causing three pairs of dark eyes to look up at her. "Sonic, that's…" She floundered for a few seconds before deciding to follow her son's example and cut her loses. "Yes, that's exactly why. I had three of you so you would never have to be alone."
"Told ya," the blue child bragged, leaning toward his brother. "You owe me some animal crackers, Manic." The youngest brother scowled in response.
"Look, boys," the queen cut in, glancing toward the finance minister. He seemed amused, but the childlike enchantment would wear off soon enough. "Leave your sister alone, all right? She doesn't want to play with you right now. Girls need some time alone."
"But, you don't. You're always having meetin's with people." Manic's voice was feeble, as if he was scared he was going to get in trouble by speaking.
"I get alone time at night, when you three are asleep." This was a fib, as she usually spent her nights with them, sitting in their room and listening to them breathe. "How about you guys go play in the garden? I bet Argus would love to play hide-and-seek with you."
The little boys' eyes lit up at the idea and Sonic was gone in a flash of blue, already yelling her captain of the guard's name. Manic followed at more subdued pace after rushing forward to give her a hug. He even apologized to Sonia and asked if she wanted to play too, to which she replied with a resounding 'yes!'.
"Thanks Mommy," the girl squeaked at her as her younger brother left the room.
"Of course, darling. Us girls needs to stick together." Aleena smiled as her daughter dropped onto the floor and disappeared out the door.
"What charming children you have, Aleena," the minister chuckled, folding his hands over his ample belly. His mustache twitched. "They have such strong character."
"Yes," the queen sighed, turning back to the reports. "Shall we get back to work? We need to sort out this mechanical shortage down south."
"That we do…" the minister chuckled.
Outside, a childlike squeal could be heard, and Aleena's heart lightened a bit. All was well in her family.
The minister's chuckles grew louder for a few seconds and her stomach heaved upwards in warning. Then, it passed and she turned back to her reports. There will be time to worry over the human sitting across from her later; for now, she needed to focus on her kingdom.
00
The scene shifts in time and place. It is months later, and she is in her children's bedroom, straightening their beds for the tenth time that day. The Oracle is standing near her, hands clasped in front of him.
"I implore you, my queen. Get rid of that human. He will only bring suffering to you, your family, and your people."
The woman pauses in her fidgeting. Her triplets are at the doctor – all three have contracted a cold, and she is worried. She allowed the Oracle into the room because she believed that he would have a message on their health, not a doomsday prophecy. "What will you have me do? I cannot just dismiss one of my senior ministers."
"Why not? You are the queen."
"It simply isn't done, Oracle. The decorum of societ—"
"Are you so bound by decorum that you will threaten your eldest's life?"
"What? What are you talking about?!"
"That human is going to take over this kingdom." His voice was matter-of-fact and the queen can already feel herself going faint at his words. She stumbles to sit on a small footstool. "And you and your children are going to go into hiding. You must separate them, allow them to grow up without knowledge of you or each other."
"But, they're already old enough to speak and walk! They know who I am."
"They are young. They will forget. They will grow without knowledge of their heritage, and, when they are old enough, their lives will be ripped out from under them, torn asunder by the very human you will not dismiss because of decorum. They will know of a Prophecy, a Prophecy that tells of a Council of Four, and it will spur them to fight. One day, you will get rid of this minister, but at a great cost. The blue child will die, and you will have led him there."
"What! But, how can I stop this?"
"You mus—" He cuts himself off, his whole body going ridged for half of a second. "The decision has been made," he beings again solemnly. "I have received another vision. The end is coming, for your kingdom and your son. The choice is out of your hands now."
Aleena wakes with a gasp. There is something wrong. Terribly wrong. She forces herself out of bed and yanks down the pull cord hanging only inches away. Seconds later, the closest housekeeper rushes in, straightening her night clothing.
"What's the matter, my queen?!"
"Gather my children. I fear there is something in the city. Something that threatens all of us."
o0o
…:Coda:…
"Well, that was easier than I expected," Sonic commented, tossing the green Emerald between his hands as he walked out of the cave the Warp Ring had been hidden in.
Tails glared at him, heaving for breath, harried and exhausted. "I did all of the work."
"Oh, c'mon, Tails, you just flew me over a few of those red spheres. Give me some credit."
"If I hadn't grabbed you, you wouldn't have that Emerald right now. Give me some credit."
"Fine, you get twenty-three percent of the credit."
"What?" Tails squawked indignantly. "There's no way you did over seventy percent of the work. I freaking told you which way to go!"
"Yeah, but I did all of the running."
"You think flying above you is easy?"
"You didn't have to deal with the ground speeding up, did you?"
"No, but I had to carry you when you screwed up."
"You encourage cheating." Sonic's tone was scandalized, but his smile gave away his lack of meaning.
Tails threw up his hands and tried to keep the answering grin off his face, but he failed. "Next time, I'll just run behind you, okay? Then you can claim all one hundred percent of the Emerald."
Sonic picked his hands up in a placating gesture. "Okay, bro, fine."
That ended the conversation and they tromped forward in comfortable silence after that, only the natural sounds of the forest interrupting the quiet. Sonic was struck by how different this type of adventure was to what he had been doing before, with his siblings. In the resistance, they would wait for assignments and then carry them out to the best of their ability before returning back to Robotropolis and doing it all over again. It was tedious, restraining, and boring in Sonic's opinion. Now though, he decided where and when he went. There were no missions and no obligations besides the ones he set out for himself.
The fact that Tails was there made the whole experience even more enjoyable. In the few months between the Death Egg and now, life had been slow, easy even, and Sonic had actually enjoyed it. It went against his nature, lazing around, not doing anything, but it suited him. Tails quickly morphed from his timid, post-Cocoa Island self into a snarky jokester. That was the true fox; Sonic could tell from the effortless way he smiled and laughed. The kid lived in a way that made the hedgehog jealous: without a care in the world. The hero had resolved to try to do the same, but his past seemed intent to come back and bite him.
Really, it shouldn't have surprised him when news of Sonia's coronation and his funeral finally reached Westside Island. After all, some of the people that lived there were refugees from Mobotropolis, so they were bound to have newspapers shipped in. Besides, word of mouth was quicker and more effective than any type of mass media, and he had heard a few people talking about it.
The first time he saw the newspaper though, he almost had a heart attack. He had been taking Tails to get a decent pair of gloves in Metropolis Zone – as the extra pair the hedgehog had received from Apollo was way too big for the fox, despite the straps he wore over them – when a boy standing on the side of the sidewalk practically threw it at him. It wasn't until after he had it in his hands that he heard the kid yelling.
"Free surplus newspapers from Robotropolis! Get 'em while they're here!"
Sonic quickly hid the paper under his arm to keep Tails from getting curious about it, and hurriedly dragged the kid away and to a privately owned glove shop. He sent Tails off to find a suitable pair before pulling the paper back out and giving it a good once over, taking note of the date at the top.
The headline was bold and in all capital letters, and it blazoned itself into his mind, silently accusing and consoling him.
PRINCE TAKEN, PRINCESS CROWNED
For some reason, that title seemed empty and patronizing at the same time. In black and white, the story of his kingdom – his family – could be summed up in two statements, four words, and Sonic couldn't help but feel slighted, as if all that time he gave to the resistance didn't matter. The end result was all that counted, and, in their eyes, he was dead. It stung for a few seconds before he reminded himself that he chose to leave it all behind.
When he finally got past the headline, his eyes trailed down the page and his thoughts were shocked into stunned silence when he saw the picture. It was a drawing, nothing more than a sketch, but it was a perfect representation of him. Sonic immediately recognized Manic's signature in the corner and his thoughts zoomed back to life, pelting him with memory after memory of Manic sitting next to him, drawing and sketching. He stumbled to lean against a wall, staring at his reflected smiling face. The caption under the picture was simple, but it tugged at Sonic's heart.
The prince as seen through the eyes of his brother; no recent pictures of the prince are available at this time.
Sonic forced his eyes away from the drawing, ignoring the thoughts that annoyingly prodded at him, demanding that he figure out what had prompted Manic to draw it. They tracked to the text of the article, and, after a round of speed reading, he was relieved to see that his mother had decided to keep his name out of the press. It was a small gesture, one meant to mirror the ambiguity the whole family had shared since Robotnik's hostile takeover of the kingdom, and Sonic sent a silent thank you to her. She may not have known it, but he was still watching over him, in a small way.
The funeral had been a small ordeal, the paper reported, with only a few dozen noble families in attendance. The local Chaos temple had offered to host it, but Aleena chose for a nonreligious ceremony, allowing her remaining children a bit familiarity. It had been held on June 23, the same day as the triplets' birthday, and there had been refreshments afterwards.
One paragraph. That was all his memorial service received. For some reason, he was thankful for that. He was happy they didn't dwell on him for long. Instead, they turned to happier things.
Sonia's coronation had been a big event, involving the whole city. The celebration lasted all day, and, in some parts of the city, well into the night. Princess Sonia was beautiful, Queen Aleena ravishing – showing no signs of having been on the run for the past twelve years – and the accompanying nobles properly dressed up as well.
Manic, Sonic realized, wasn't mentioned anywhere. It was almost as if he didn't exist. In the picture – a full color shot, no doubt splurged for – showed Sonia and his mother elaborately dressed, standing on the steps of the palace, a large, newly white-washed building with the proper flags flying from its spires, waving at the large mob of people standing in front of them. The Crown of Mobius gleamed on Aleena's brow, properly shined and cleaned, and a new, smaller crown was hidden under Sonia's hair fringe. It was a simple gold band, not nearly as elaborate as the queen's, but it had enough embellishment to establish her as the future ruler. He could see the barest of green quills hiding behind the two of them, and Sonic scowled, looking back at the words printed on the page.
Ah, there he was, in the last sentence. The coronation ball was a joyously successful occasion, though Prince Manic did not attend.
Sonic didn't have a chance to puzzle over that, because Tails chose that moment to rush back, waving a pair of gloves over his head.
After that day, Sonic had been looking for excuses to get away from Westside. His name might not have been brought up, but that picture was a perfect reflection of him, and he had been receiving second looks when he was in the city. When Tails mentioned a magical floating island, Sonic had jumped at the chance to go check it out (after deciding that Tails wasn't insane), and here they were, walking through a dense forest, chasing a red Emerald stealer, and—
"Hey, Sonic," Tails inquiry jolted the hedgehog out of his thoughts and he looked down at his friend, "how come there's badniks up here anyway? Do you think Robotnik's here?"
"Wouldn't surprise me, kid." He rubbed the fox on the head. "I mean, his Death Egg didn't land back on Mobius. Where do you think it went?"
Tails shrugged, unable to form a decent enough response, and instead chose to lace his hands behind his head. "I wonder what that red thing's name is. He seemed really angry we were up here."
Sonic's expression dropped. "Yeah well, I'm angry he punched me in the face."
"He didn't hurt you, Sonic." Tails' tone was dubious and he sent his older brother a look that said as much.
"He hurt my pride," Sonic sniffed. "C'mon kiddo, let's speed up. We need to figure out where this path heads."
"Race ya!" Suddenly, Tails was a few feet ahead of him, running with all of his might. Seconds later, he was hovering above the ground, his tails pushing him forward at a speed Sonic could admire. The hedgehog grinned and followed, catching up to and overtaking the fox in a heartbeat.
000
When they came across Robotnik, Sonic wasn't surprised.
The giant fortress dropping bombs though, now that was surprising.
It wasn't that hard to outrun though, and the human's fire machine was even less of a threat. Sonic grinned after him as he sputtered and sparked in a feeble retreat, declaring that this wouldn't be the last of him blah blah blah. Sonic high-fived Tails and sent his friend a thumbs up.
"So, where next?" the fox asked, eyes hooded against the sun.
The hedgehog looked around, shading his face with his hand. "Do you think you could fly me up ther— Oh, crud."
"Don't relax just yet, hedgehog!" a deep voice yelled. Tails' ears snapped up while Sonic's did the opposite in order to match his flat expression. He heaved a deep suffering sigh. "The fun's just begun!"
The hero rolled his eyes, craning his neck back to look at their aggressor. The red Emerald thief was standing on the ledge Sonic had pointed out with his right foot poised over what looked like a giant gray button. "What is this, a carnival?" Sonic snarked back, ignoring the sinking feeling in his belly.
"No, I can assure you, it's not." The red one's face morphed into a cruel smile. "Carnivals are fun." He threw his head back, cackling loudly.
Sonic twirled his right index finger next to the side of his head to signal to Tails just how crazy the crimson one was. "You just said that the fun's just started…"
The thief huffed, abruptly cutting off his own laughter. "For me." He grinned. "I heard that you can't swim! Guess where you're headed?" Without waiting for a reply, he rocked forward, pressing the button all the way down.
Unexpectedly, Sonic felt his sinking feeling morph into a plummeting one as the bridge suddenly disappeared. Gravity grabbed him greedily, jerking him downward in a dizzying freefall. He was barely aware of Tails falling next to him, screaming like a banshee.
When they landed, it was with a splash.
000
Mushroom Hill Zone was interesting, that was for sure. Tails was having a blast bouncing around on the mushrooms while Sonic was constantly on the lookout for chicken tornados. It wasn't taking them that long to get through the Zone, all things considered. There was a lot of climbing and swinging, but most of it was easily avoidable. Sonic was seriously starting to wonder if Robotnik had lost his touch, if there was such a thing.
When Knuckles stuck his head out of a secret passage, it was only by luck that Sonic saw him. He was lying on his belly, waiting for Tails to decide that the mushrooms in this area were no longer springy enough, with his head extended over a small drop off. The red echidna had appeared from nowhere, as far as Sonic was concerned, and emerged from a cave similar to the ones the Warp Rings were hidden in. He took a look around before apparently deeming it safe – never looking up – and stomped on one of his magical switches, making Sonic stiffen. The ground didn't drop away and the sun didn't go out, and Sonic scowled out of disappointment. Then, the echidna stalked away.
"Tails," Sonic summoned his friend with a snap of the fingers and he waited until the fox was standing next to him. "Stay here. I need to check something out."
"Okay!" the kit chirped, turning around to go back to his makeshift trampoline.
Chuckling at the childlike actions of his friend, Sonic couldn't help but grin before jumping down to the lower level. He easily stepped on the switch, rocking onto it to keep most of his weight on his other foot in case it was booby trapped. The wall in front of him cranked open without a hitch and his eyes narrowed a bit.
Inside the cave-thing was a Warp Ring, but this one was different than the others. It wasn't so much the fact that it was flashing different colors – though that sure was different – as the energy that was radiating out of it. It filled Sonic, and the Emeralds hiding in his quills sang in a deep chord, emitting what could have only been the purest form of their essence through sound. Sonic's inner musician celebrated the perfect sound, and its festivity escalated with every step he took toward the Ring.
The trip through it was dizzily disorienting and Sonic was spat out of the ring with a splitting headache. Starbursts of light and the swirling colors coupled with a spinning landscape upended his inner sense of vertigo and it was all he could do to keep his lunch where it properly belonged in his stomach. Sure he was accustomed to pinball-like Special Zones with bright colors and strange, forever changing backdrops, but that didn't mean he enjoyed them; his stomach had fallen out of practice. He fell forward onto his hands and knees, breathing deeply through his nose and his whole body shuddered, his quills rising and his ears snapping down. The hedgehog resisted the urge to curl into himself, instead opting to force his head upward to take a look at his surroundings.
The chamber was nothing more than a glorified cave with an elongated hole on the colossal ceiling far above his head. All around him large stalagmites were raised from the ground, each of them holding an eerie blue sheen. Scattered infrequently around him were yellow crystals, the gems hanging off of flat surfaces in clumps. He was standing on an elaborate platform built onto a particularly wide and flattened mesa inside the cavern, the tile beneath him a soft pastel green tint. Around every edge laid a dark abyss that lead into deep into the earth and far beyond what the eye could see. Set into the floor of the wide room were eight large foundations, the seven identical ones smaller and closer to the ground. The However, the eighth pedestal, the largest one, was occupied by a luminous green stone.
The gem was huge, pulsing, singing in a way the twanged in time with his heart and yanked at his soul. He felt his senses expand, increasing and vacuuming inward at the same time. His eyes bore deeply into the Emerald, and it swirled with power. It invited him forward and he forced himself to a standing position, anchoring himself on his feet.
Then, without warning, the world went black.
o0o
~Syncopation::Even Note~
When you come back to the Hidden Palace and find that hedgehog bent over the Master Emerald with his hands splayed flat on its faceted surface and his forehead touching it, you nearly have a heart attack. You take a step to charge at him and demand what the heck he thought he was doing, touching the Master, but a pulse of Chaos Energy suddenly flares up. Your finely tuned senses pick it up as a wave of green, and it smacks into you, throwing you off your feet and onto your back. You land roughly, all of the air in your lungs escaping in a great huff and your head is left spinning from the backlash. The Energy buzzes through your head, purposely trying to confuse you, and you force up your mental filters, using the training your grandfather forced into your head those many years ago. The walls block the Energy and you struggle to sit up.
The hedgehog is unharmed. You fight back the wave of shock that threatens to overwhelm you and you instead focus on the Master Emerald, reaching out to it with your senses. You skirt over the fingers of Chaos Energy flowing to the walls of the cave, dance over the lines going to the seven gems clustered in the hedgehog's quills, and ignore the strong gold band that is connecting the intruder's head to the Master. You flow up your own line – a pale yellow in comparison to the hedgehog's glowing gold – and probe at the gem.
It snaps back at you, severing the connection like it is nothing. You are sent skittering backwards on your hands and knees before you realize what you are doing and you scowl. The Master has rejected you, you realize with a sinking feeling. It has turned to this hedgehog – this imposter, this tormentor of Angel Island – and has formed a connection stronger than yours with him. Suddenly, you feel your life – your duty slipping through your fingers – and you fight off the desperation already building in your belly. Instead, you replace it with anger, and you clench your fists.
You get to your feet and move to attack the hedgehog, but the spike of Energy comes again. You are ready this time, and you plant your feet. You manage to stay standing, but it does push you back a few feet. Okay, the Master doesn't want you to touch its new choice. Fine.
"Hey!" You bark forcefully. The hedgehog jerks away from the gem like he has been burned and you resist the urge to grin. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Wha—? I-I don't know." The blue one's voice is incredibly confused and you are tempted to believe him. But then you notice the band of gold still snaking into him and that temptation goes away.
"Get away from the Master Emerald!" You try to move forward again, but the Chaos Energy pushes back, buffeting you almost all the way to the opposite wall. "You don't know what you're tampering with!"
"The Master what? Look, dude, I don't even know how I got up here." He gestures to the dais the stone is set in and then to the five foot drop to the ground. "Last thing I remember, I was standing where you are."
"Get away from it!" you repeat, growling.
"Jeeze, I will, once I figure out how to get out of here without breaking my leg...and how to keep you from clocking me into next week."
You grind your teeth at his tone and pound your fist into the open palm of your opposite hand. "I'm going to count to three and you are going to be off of that pedestal before I finish."
"I can't," he presses back. "Do you see this drop? Do you want me to leave here or not?"
"I've seen you jump off of higher things." Your tone is on the edge of whining, but you don't care. There is something about this blue character that pushes your buttons.
"Yeah but that was when there was grass or snow to catch me. In here, there's just stone. Stone plus gravity equals splat."
You throw up your hands. "Why not ask the Master Emerald for help? It's already chosen you over me—" You abruptly cut yourself off. Did you really just say that out loud? One look at the hedgehog's face and you know that, yes, you did.
"Chosen? Look, whatever your name is, I think the thin air up here has seriously messed up your head. This giant Chaos Emerald can't choose—"
Suddenly, the Master flares and the seven Chaos Emeralds trapped in the blue one's quills answer with flashes of their own. They dislodge themselves and circle both the hedgehog and Master Emerald once before floating merrily to the seven smaller daises and depositing themselves to their rightful places. Their color seeps away, draining into their very hearts, and the hedgehog blanches.
"What?!" He rounds on you. "What did you do?!"
"I do not control the Emeralds, hedgehog! They do as they please!" You pause as a low hum meets your ears and you cock your head to the side. "They have returned home to recharge and reach their potential. It will take them seven decades to grow to their proper sizes."
"Seve— Wait, you mean seventy years? What."
"Get down hedgehog." You realize that you have let him dawdle for too long, have told him too much; you might have to kill him to keep the Island's secrets intact. "You cannot tamper with the realignment process."
"Realignment my ass," he mutters, turning away from you and facing the nearest Emerald. It is a good five feet away. He takes a few steps backwards so the quills on his back are nearly touching the Master Emerald, and your heart seizes as you realize that he is doing. He can't possibly be thinking…
But then, he takes those precious few strides of run-up and launches himself off the main pedestal. He soars through the air, curls into a ball to control his trajectory, and smacks into the Emerald platform. He bounces off of the plinth and the ball flares open to become a mess of quills and limbs; he lets out a yell as his fall becomes unpredictable. He slams into the Emerald, landing right on his belly, and you can hear the wind being knocked out of him from across the room.
"GET OFF THE EMERALD!" You roar, rushing toward him. You only make it a couple of steps before the Master sweeps you off your feet with a wave of invisible Energy again. The hedgehog wheezes and rolls over, his hand stretched across his torso. Already, the gem under him is glowing, feeding off of the strong connection he has with the Master Emerald, and his form is flickering, blurring around the edges. "You're being pulled into the Other World!" you yell, but he cannot hear you. He is half invisible. "Even I don't know what's on the other side of the pathway!"
He looks up at you with wide, green eyes and tries to sit up. But, the Emerald flashes once and then, he is gone.
o0o
…:Allegro:…
Approximately two days later, Sonic and Tails emerged from a seventh Warp Ring (fourteenth if you counted the normal Chaos Emeralds), out of breath, but smiling. They finally managed to collect the seventh Super Emerald, and it now sat nestled with the others in the Emerald Chamber. They had seen less and less of the Guardian dude as they had slowly collected them, but they knew their luck wouldn't hold for long.
When Sonic was transported to the 'Other World' as the red one had called it, it had been another Special Zone. This one was a little more chaotic than the usual ones, but it was traversable and he had easily gotten the first Super Emerald. He had been spat back into the Emerald Chamber afterward but the Guardian had been gone. Sonic had shrugged it off and trudged back out, intent on telling Tails what had happened and to get moving. The fox hadn't believed him at first – 'a giant Emerald that kidnapped your mind?' – but one trip through the next Warp Ring had changed his tune.
Currently, they were walking through a volcano. Or, what seemed like a volcano. The whole Island seemed uneasy, and this Zone was especially volatile. There were pools of lava, waterfalls of lava, and spike traps mixed in amongst a multitude of robots disguised to look like rocks.
"Oh yeah! Did you see that?! I totally just owned that rock robot! Ten points to me!"
Tails had decided to make the whole thing a game, much to the hedgehog's chagrin.
"Kid, this isn't a video game."
"You're just upset because I'm beating you." Tails spun around so he was walking backwards in front of the hedgehog, his hands laced behind his head.
Sonic's ears twitched at that but he chose not to comment, instead deciding to plow forward. Tails was humming a lazy tune as they walked forward. The blue one turned his head to stare uneasily at a nearby lave pool before looking away with a grimace. It was only by sheer chance that he happened to glance up to see a large stalactite hundreds of feet above them crack and plummet to the ground – directly over Tails. He barely had time to compute the danger before he kicked off of the ground in an ungodly burst of speed.
Time seemed to stop as a massive wave of pure, unadulterated energy exploded over the area. A sharp crack pinpointed the exact moment the sound barrier was shattered, and in a split second he was moving faster than he ever had before. As he passed through the invisible barrier that tried and failed to slow him down, the deep blue color of his fur, the hue that he had always been so proud of, drained away leaving nothing behind but a brilliant whiteness akin to the sun shining off of new fallen snow. His ears pricked up in surprise a split second as he noticed that he felt perfectly content and more at ease with himself than he'd felt in a very long time.
He was literally shining, something that he only noticed with a mild interest, and his fur was shifting through the colors that he barely recognized as the ones within the seven emeralds. He could feel little crackles of energy rippling along his skin like sweet caresses and the ends of his mouth twitched up briefly.
He scooped up Tails moments later, three long seconds – a lifetime in this form – before the jagged rock sliced into the ground. They were gone, nothing more than a speck, instants after.
Sonic eventually stopped – literally, he just stopped, no skidding or sliding involved – a few thousand feet later. Tails dropped out of his arms, shaking and shivering, and fell on his backside facing the hedgehog, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"What…?" The hedgehog's voice echoed around them, fueled with pure power. A few feet away, a large chunk of rock fell into a lava pool.
"You're a rainbow," the fox breathed, his namesakes curling around his feet, "and you're sparkling…" He reached out and closed his small fist around one of the sparks floating around the hedgehog. He pulled his hand away and was pleasantly surprised to see the energy still in his hand, floating merrily up and down in his palm. "Your eyes are green…" This seemed the biggest shock of them all and he glanced up at his friend.
Suddenly, the sparkle sitting in the cup of his glove zoomed up and hovered at eye level with the fox. Then, it rocketed into his forehead, disappearing in a small flash of light. Tails made a noise of surprise and his eyes crossed in an attempt to see his brow.
"Your eyes are blue, kiddo."
Tails jerked and he slowly looked back up to Sonic. "Huh?" It wasn't exactly the most eloquent response, but it was all Tails could come up with due to the circumstances.
"That spark turned your eyes blue. Looks like the Emeralds like you too."
"Well, I did get to know them before you." Tails' voice had a playful edge and he pushed himself to his feet. "We got really close on Cocoa Island." He paused, running his eyes up and down his friend's form. "Does it hurt? Being so full of Energy?"
"No." It was a simple answer, but it was so full of force, there was no doubting him. "This is like the first transformation. Except… more."
"Hyper Sonic."
"What?"
"The first was Super Sonic and this is Hyper Sonic."
Sonic stared at him for a few speechless seconds and Tails couldn't help but feel like those green eyes were searching his very essence. Then, the hedgehog nodded.
"Let's get moving, huh? We have a date with Robotnik."
o0o
~Syncopation~
When Dr. Robotnik takes the Master Emerald, you have no one to blame but yourself.
You're just thankful that the hedgehog has enough tact not to say 'I told you so.'
"C'mon." This comes out as a grunt. The kick back of electricity from the human's machine was stronger and more damaging than you first anticipated. The pain is snaking its way up your torso, every nerve on fire. Your ribs have taken a beating courtesy of the hedgehog and it is getting a bit hard to breathe. But, you must get the blue one to Sky Sanctuary if he has any hope of getting the Master Emerald back.
You hate to think this, but he's your last hope.
You lead him to a Warp Point. The red sphere is cold to the touch but it warms at the contact, and suddenly, your world is spinning. You feel a pull at your stomach and then you are shooting through the air, nothing more than a few scattered atoms. You slam back into being with enough force to knock the breath from your lungs and you can only sit on the Warp Point and heave for breath. Sonic jumps off, quick to get away from you in case you changed your mind about being on his side, and looks up. Something has risen in the distance, and your stomach drops out.
The Death Egg. That damn fortress that you let the human build on your Island. It is fully functioning and free floating. It releases a battalion of robots into the air and they shoot off, no doubt to wreak havoc on the Island.
You shake your head. You can't think about Angel Island right now. It is slowly sinking below you, the ambient Chaos Energy from the Super Emeralds fighting to keep it in the air. Sky Sanctuary is your only hope. Robotnik did not count on the free floating landmass, separated from the main Island by everything but a thin cord of Energy. In the distance, you can just see the central tower brush the bottom of the Death Egg and, in that moment, you know there is a chance.
"You okay dude?" Sonic's voice has an edge to it you haven't heard before. Concern laced with desperation. It is an unusual combination. You wonder slightly if he knows that he has cocked his head to the side, his eyes wild with adrenaline and his fingers twitching at his sides. He is barely bouncing on his toes and you force yourself to stand.
"I'm fine. I'll get the bridge."
You leap across the chasm separating the Warp Point platform from the rest of Sky Sanctuary and fall on top of the switch. The bridge extends and the hedgehog darts across. He leans down to help you up, but you wave him off.
"Go. Get the Master Emerald back." You try to sound forceful but you know you fail. Still, he nods all the same and turns on his heel.
"Stay safe, Guardian."
"Knuckles." You have no idea why you offer him your name. This is no time for introductions.
"I'm Sonic. I'll be seein' ya Knux."
Then, he blasts off.
You watch him go, track the blur of his movements. You can only hope that he will be successful. He really is the last hope. He has to achieve what you have so royally failed at. It may have started out your responsibility to guard Angel Island and the Master Emerald, but the torch has been passed to him for now. You have done all that you can.
You have no idea how long you sit there, your body half-collapsed on the switch, before the rumbling starts. At first, it is nothing but a vibration in the ground. Then, it grows to a dull roar. You look up in time to see the Warp Point platform start to crumble and your eyes widen. You pull yourself to the bridge and gaze downward.
Angel Island is a large dark shape. It has moved too far for the Super Emeralds to keep Sky Sanctuary in the air.
It is falling.
o0o
...:Allegro:…
They dropped the Master Emerald off in the forest.
Then, they got out of there as quickly as they could.
"Knuckles likes his privacy!" Sonic yelled at Tails over the wind. "I don't think he'll want to see us again for a while."
"But, don't you think he'd want to thank you?"
Sonic glanced toward the ground as the plane slowly looped around the back of the Island. It was already slowly lifting out of the water. Knuckles had found the Master Emerald and was standing next to it with his arms crossed, a satisfied look on his face. He glanced up at the plane and gave a barely perceivable nod.
"I think he appreciates it."
Tails paused and followed his friend's sight line. He smiled when Knuckles nodded to him as well. "Where to next?"
"Hm. I was thinking the Mystic Ruins. It's back under mobian control, and I hear they have prime real estate up for grabs. Dirt cheap."
Tails laughed. "How'd you hear that? We were on a floating island for a week and a half."
Sonic smiled winningly but chose not to answer. Instead, he remarked, "What do you think about a workshop? We could use some roots. A home base."
"A workshop?!" The plane dipped slightly as Tails jerked the controls in surprise. "Really?! I'd be able to do some real work on the Tornado or–" He cut himself off with a gasp. "–or I could build my own plane! That'd be sweet!"
The hedgehog chuckled. "It's settled then. Let's go build us a workshop."
"Can it be named after me? Please Sonic?"
"Tails' Workshop… I like the sound of that."
The fox let out a sound that was half way between a squeal and a yell and Sonic grinned. It was so easy to make his little friend happy. Just give him a few tools and a space to work in and he was over the moon.
He owed Tails that much. Seeing Knuckles protect his home so vehemently had reminded Sonic just how homeless he and the fox were. They had been on the road for a while now, and the kit was a growing child. Their type of lifestyle wasn't exactly ideal for the developing youth. Even Sonic had had a steady place to live when he had been that age. Tails was family now, and Sonic took care of his family. He made sure with his siblings had a steady home and he would do the same for Tails.
"Thanks, big bro."
What kind of big brother would he be if he did otherwise?
"Of course, kiddo."
And thus ends part one. See you next time for the beginning of part two!
A big thank you to Yami-sama42 (who I'm going to see over break, yay!) for writing the description of the Emerald chamber and the Hyper Sonic transformation. This chapter would have never been finished without you. Allow me to shower you with gratitude.
Next chapter will probably be a while. BUT! Never fear, I post sneak peeks to future chapters on my tumblr (link on the profile), so if you're pining for more, go give that a look~! I also reblog shiny things.
Allegro is a direction to play lively and fast.
Reviews are cherished.