"Sonic, come quick!"
The hedgehog looked up with a start from the floor of his hut where he was teaching Velocity the alphabet. Tails had burst in, eyes wide, panting, almost in tears.
"What's up, little bro?" Sonic asked, standing up.
Tails seized his hand. "Come quick-something terrible's happened to Pilot!"
Sonic followed Tails at a run, not knowing whether to panic now or later. Velocity toddled along in their wake, unnoticed.
Tails led Sonic to the back of his hut, where there was a wide grassy strip. "I was playing with her," Tails choked, "and I turned my back for a second, and I turned around, and she-she was like that!"
Sonic gazed at Pilot in amazed horror. The little violet chao was sitting with her head bowed, rocking slightly with slow, deep breaths, as if she had fallen asleep sitting up. But encircling her like a bubble was a transparent shell, onion-shaped with the point at the top. Sonic touched it and with a shock found it was as hard as rock. "Is she dying?" Tails cried, clasping and unclasping his hands. "What do we do?"
Sonic felt something touch his leg, and saw Velocity looking at the encased Pilot with innocent interest. Velocity looked up at him and smiled, not at all perturbed. Sonic returned his gaze to the cocoon, and saw that it was slightly less transparent than a moment before. "Let's find Sally," Sonic said, snatching up Velocity to keep him from seeing any more.
Sally was washing her hair and couldn't be bothered, so the pair hunted down Slasher. The big raptor was located in the small orchard adjacent to the village, picking peaches and plums with Chalcon sitting on her back, like a baby chick riding an elephant. He ducked down behind her wing as they approached. Sonic and Tails explained about Pilot, interrupting each other, while Velocity chirred and waved to Chalcon's eyes peeking down at them.
Slasher didn't seemed worried in the least. She handed a peach to Chalcon and a plum to Velocity, and said, "Want a peach or something? No? Don't worry about Pilot, you guys. She's evolving."
"Evolving?" Tails asked, still frightened. "What's that mean? Is she gonna die?"
"Oh no," said Slasher, cocking her head for a look at Velocity, who was mauling his plum messily. "Pilot's growing up. It was in the documentation. When each chao grows big enough, they form a cocoon and finalize their genetic code. They grow a little bigger, change color and shape, and come out ready for action. After they evolve, the only thing that will make them change drastically will be the chaos emeralds."
"Oh!" said Sonic, realization dawning on his face. "Like how Chaos changed shape every time he got a new emerald? These guys can go perfect, too?"
"Exactly."
Tails' mood had flip-flopped. He was bouncing up and down with excitement. "So Pilot can fly when she comes out?"
"Maybe."
"How long before she's done?"
"Two to four hours, I guess," said Slasher with a shrug that nearly upset Chalcon. "Oops, sorry Chal. Tails, I suggest you take Pilot into your hut so nobody steps on her."
"All right!" The fox shot away in the direction of the village.
"Gee," said Sonic with a grin, "I think I want to watch, too. C'mon Velos, let's watch Pilot so you can get some ideas!"
Pilot did not stir when Tails lifted the cocoon. By this time she was nearly hidden within the shell, which was turning pearly-white. Tails set the cocoon on his bed, and he, Sonic and Velocity watched raptly for approximately five minutes. Then Sonic, bored at the prospect of a four-hour wait, suggested a computer game, and Tails agreed. Only Velocity continued to watch Pilot, as if he found her evolution much more interesting than a simple computer game.
An hour rolled by. The shell was now solid white, and Pilot was no longer visible. Sonic, Tails and Velocity departed for lunch, came back and resumed their vigil.
Tails was reading a book and Sonic was playing Rock, Scissors, Paper with Velocity, who was having trouble because his formless round paw couldn't form the shapes, when the cocoon became transparent again. Tails noticed first. "Sonic, look!" The blue hedgehog looked up and caught his breath.
Pilot was a warm purple now, and a size bigger than before. What caught Sonic's attention was that the knobs on her head had become a pair of long, drooping head-tails, astonishingly like Nights, a being he had met in a dream. "How ...?" he said, pointing. "Tails, she looks just like Nights! How in the world ...?"
"That's what Nights looks like?" asked Tails, admiring Pilot's new shape. "Ooo, look at her wings, Sonic! Look at those suckers!" Pilot had a pair of yellow wings that were two feet wide from tip to tip. "I'll bet she can fly now! Oh, I can't wait until she's done!"
The cocoon was growing transparent much quicker than it had grown solid. Before long it was no more clouded than a pane of glass, and still Pilot slept on, unaware of the transformation that had occurred.
"Do you think she'll be hungry?" Tails said suddenly, frowning, every inch an expectant mother. "When they hatched they were hungry. I better go get some food. Be right back." The fox dashed from the hut. Sonic waited with Velocity, watching the shell dissolve like smoke. Pilot's breathing sped up a little; she seemed on the verge of waking. "Hurry up, Tails, or she'll hatch without you," Sonic muttered.
Tails arrived just in time. As he set down a basket of late- summer fruit, the faint remnants of the cocoon vanished into mist. Pilot yawned and opened her eyes, as if awakened by the fresh air. She turned, saw the three spectators, and shrieked, "Tails!"
In an instant she leaped off the bed and flung herself into his arms. Tails was knocked to the floor by her increased weight, and sat there giggling as Pilot hugged him. She released him and bounced up and down, fluttering her golden feathery wings. A constant stream of chatter flowed from her little mouth, as if she were saying all the things she had longed to say before she could talk. It was a moment before Sonic adjusted his ears enough to understand her.
"... and Velocity is always picking on me and I want to fly now and I love you, Tails, and I miss Chimera and Max and that big mean bird was so scary and I'm hungry and I want to fly and has anyone else otiaed yet and I'm so glad to be done and how do I look now?"
Tails, who couldn't stop laughing in his delight, stood up and carried Pilot to his little wall mirror. Pilot took one look and let out a scream. "I'm DIFFERENT!" she wailed. A second later she was having Tails turn her about so she could look herself over. She touched her long head-tails, stroked her soft wings and flexed her little hands, which were no longer blobs. She turned and looked up at Sonic with violet eyes, smiled and said, "Hello Sonic, Velocity and the others will otiae soon, don't worry." She returned her gaze to the mirror.
"What's 'otiae'? Tails asked, looking at Sonic, who shrugged.
"What I did," said Pilot matter-of-factly. "Going to otiae sleep and changing shape. Oh, I'm hungry." She had spotted the basket of fruit. Tails set her down and watched her hop to it, fluttering like a bird unsure of its wings.
Sonic looked down at Velocity. The green chao was staring at Pilot with obvious longing. He wanted to talk, too.
Sonic carried Velocity about the village at top speed, partly to announce Pilot's awakening, and partly to influence Velocity still more toward speed. It worked. Velocity was abnormally sleepy when Sonic returned him to the chao pen. When Sonic checked on him ten minutes later, Velocity had formed a cocoon.
That evening, Elleno, Zinc and Chalcon also formed cocoons. As the doting parents were standing about, admiring, the radio set in Rotor's hut beeped. Rotor and Sally ran to it, and found themselves talking to a worried Knuckles. Max and Chimera had white things over them; was that okay? "Yes!" Sally laughed, and explained about their own chao and the growth stage.
"Oh, good," said Knuckles with relief in his voice. They heard him call distantly, "It's okay you guys, they're supposed to do that." Then more clearly, into the microphone, he said, "There's been a panic out here, let me tell you."
Once again the chao were intensely interesting. Pilot was something of a celebrity for several hours. Everyone wanted to stroke her purple head and have her greet them by name, for she knew the names of everyone.
Then Velocity exited otiae, and Pilot was nearly forgotten. Velocity was dark blue, and looked for all the world like a miniature Sonic. He had a set of long, stiff spines on the back of his head. The first words out of his mouth when he awakened were, "See, I can talk, too." He smiled at Pilot with all his white teeth and said, "Now we'll see if I can pound you."
"Wait until Elleno hatches," replied Pilot smugly. "She'll do all the beating up around here."
But it was Zinc who came out of otiae next. "Look, look!" Zephyer squealed. "He's silver now! Oh Zinc, I take back everything I ever said about you being ugly!"
Zinc smiled, a pleasant smile without malice or pride. "I know you didn't mean it." The mutant chao's dull grey had turned a polished silver, like chrome. Indeed, it was the only improvement. Zinc's eyes remained negatized, with white pupils, and on his forehead were two stubby horns, oddly reminiscent of a rhinoceros. It gave him a jumbled appearance. "I'm the same color as you now," said Zinc, patting Zephyer's metal arm. "I like silver."
Serena was hovering about anxiously, waiting for Elleno's cocoon to vanish. Chalcon's cocoon was still opaque white, and Elleno's was nearly clear, but Serena couldn't see her in the twilight under the trees. "She'll probably be dark blue, like Velocity," Serena muttered, leaning against the fence. "They were identical, after all." All the same, Serena's curiosity was running high. All the chao had changed so dramatically it was like opening a Christmas present each time one came out of otiae. The violet hedgehog raised her eyes to watch Tails a short distance away, trying to show Pilot how to fly. A soft sigh drew her attention back to the pen. Elleno had hatched.
She bore hedgehog characteristics, too-a row of spines down her head and back-but she was a cool shade of violet. She had a small forelock that tumbled untidily over her eyes, and her ears were rather short. She turned her head, saw Serena and smiled. "Serena!" she said in a high voice, scrambling to her feet. She ran to the fence, and Serena picked her up. "I'm all done!" Elleno announced proudly. "Do you like me anymore?" This was spoken with a worried look into Serena's face, as if the chao feared her new form would seem repulsive to her mistress. "Oh yes!" said Serena, hugging her. "You look like me! I don't believe it! Let's go see the others."
Chalcon was left in limbo inside his cocoon, alone and forgotten by all save Slasher. After a while the big raptor appeared and peered at the cocoon. It was just beginning to turn transparent again. Curious and wondering if his wounds had affected his growth, Slasher crouched and peered at the cocoon's occupant. He was larger than before, but as far as she could see, he was simply a bigger version of the simple chao. "You poor little thing," Slasher murmured.
It was quite a while before Chalcon came out of otiae. His evolution had taken twice as long as everyone else's, and he had changed the least. He climbed to his feet and looked up at Slasher, a plain chao with nothing impressive about him. "Am ... am I ugly?" he whispered.
"Oh no," Slasher assured him, picking him up. "You're much bigger than you were before. How do you feel?"
"All right, I guess. I'm hungry."
"Well then, we'll get you something to eat." Slasher started to say something about how much the other chao had changed, but bit her tongue. Chalcon would soon see for himself.
The four celebrities were sitting around a bonfire at the north end of the village. Elleno was feasting on a tomato, while the other chao, stuffed to the ears, sat back and watched her. "Those are gross," said Velocity. "I don't know how you can stand them."
"They're fruit, too," said Elleno indignantly, and stuck out her tomatoey tongue at him.
"Hey look," said Pilot, "Chalcon's finished! Hi, Chalcon!" The purple chao waved without getting up, and so did Zinc and Velocity.
Elleno got up and waved, too. "Chalcon! Come here and try a tomato and show Velocity that it's not gross!"
Chalcon looked up at Slasher, who whispered, "They're good. Go on." She set him down next to Elleno, who handed him a cherry tomato. Chalcon waited until Slasher had seated herself nearby, then hesitantly took a tiny nip. His eyes lit up at once, and he polished off the rest in two bites. "These are good!" he said, licking his paw, which had not formed into a hand. He also tried plums, cherries, peaches and nectarines, but tomatoes remained his favorite.
The chao stuffed themselves, enjoying the first day of 'really being alive', as Zinc put it. "After all," said the silver chao, "you can't do much when you're a little baby."
Then the five curled up in their masters or mistresss' laps, and blinked sleepily into the fire as the Freedom Fighters told stories. The only chao who did not doze was Velocity, who sat alert in Sonic's lap and listened, ears pricked as high as they would go. He was the only chao still awake when Sonic reeled out the old yarn of how he had rescued Serena from the clutches of Metal Sonic, by now much inflated. Metal Sonic had become the embodiment of evil, and always lurked in the shadows with red eyes glimmering, while Sonic had become a superhero with awesome powers and strength. Velocity listened, all but forgotten, staring at Sonic with an expression of absolute horror. He would have nightmares that night.
When the story was finished, the first one to break the silence was the blue chao. "Is Metal Sonic real?"
Sonic noticed Slasher's eye fixed on him. "Oh sure, but he's not scary. He's just a wimpy robot. You know, like a hoverbike or something. He's just a bunch of metal parts bolted together."
"Oh." Velocity didn't question this. His brain was not yet developed to the point where he actually thought things out and asked questions. But he would have cause to remember Sonic's definition of a robot later.
Robotnik walked into his study, flipped on the light, and let out an oath. His study, though never exactly tidy, had never looked like this. Every book had been removed from the bookcases, every drawer in his desk had been opened and papers littered the floor. Crouched in the midst of the chaos was Leviathan. The big robot blinked at his master and rose to his feet, a large volume gripped in his claws. "What are you doing in here?" Robotnik snarled in outrage. "What have you done to my study?"
"I have ransacked it," said the robot quietly, with an edge of steel in his voice. In a year, prisoners who heard that tone would be mercilessly shredded afterward. "I was reading your books. You do not mind, I hope."
"Of course I mind!" said the doctor, stamping to the desk. "Look at this mess! Why did you do this?" He turned to face the robot, to find Leviathan with a strange, cold look on his masked face. The teeth in his lower jaw were showing. "If you knew what was healthy, you would not question me. I supplementing my memory with necessary data. That is all you must know." The dinosaur tossed his book on the desk and stalked out of the room. Robotnik glared after him, furious. Even Robo Knux, in the midst of his rebellion, had shown more respect than that. The beast was out of control ...!
Robotnik slid the book over and glanced at the title. It read, "Earth Dictators, Volume 2 - Napoleon to Hitler."
Chimera and Max had been in the midst of a scuffle when they suddenly fell into otiae-sleep, as if someone had thrown a switch. Hence the panic among the islanders when Knuckles called Knothole.
The two chao didn't seem to notice what had happened. As soon as the cocoons vanished, leaving Chimera bright red with a mass of short horns on the back of his head, and Max green and yellow with a bizarre head shape and long, flipper-like ears, the two resumed their fight. Knuckles was laughing, and Talon was staring so hard at Max that no one moved to break them up.
Then Max fled, whimpering, to Talon. "He bit me!" he wailed, holding out an arm, which was now a flipper. Talon knelt soberly and examined it, trying to hide a smile. "It's not serious," the anteater told his chao. "Max, do you notice anything unusual?"
The chao looked around at Chimera, who was standing with a paw braced against Knuckles's knee. The red chao gave the green one a wicked smile. "Chimera's a different color," Max said.
"What about you?" asked Chimera in a sneery voice. "Don't you realize we just otiaed?"
Max gasped and looked down at himself. He had been talking without noticing it, and he was bigger! How had he not noticed? Speechless, he looked up at Talon. The anteater picked him up and squeezed him. Max giggled and flung his flippers around Talon's neck. The two grinned at Knuckles, who had picked up Chimera and grinned back. Chimera put on a superior face and said, "I'm a fire chao and you're a water chao, so there." He stuck his pointed snout into the air with a smirk.
"Which is why you don't get along, eh?" Knuckles said, rubbing Chimera's head roughly.
"I'm hungry," Max said, turning to Talon seriously.
"Okay," said Talon. He looked at Knuckles and said, "I'm taking him up to the house, sir." Knuckles nodded, and Talon walked away, stroking Max and talking to him as he went.
"Wimp," said Chimera. Knuckles glared at him. "I mean Max, not Talon," said Chimera hurriedly. "He's so whiny it makes me sick." He gave Knuckles a sideways look and smiled through his teeth. "I'm hungry, too. Will we be assigned the chaos emeralds soon?"
Knuckles looked at his chao in surprise. How had he known about their plans to give each chao an emerald? Well, it wasn't healthy to lie to a chao. "Yes, eventually," said Knuckles, "but not now. You haven't grown enough. Besides, it made you sick."
"I wouldn't get sick now!" said Chimera indignantly.
"Yeah, you would," said Knuckles. "Let's give you some dinner, shall we?"
"Oh, all right," grumbled the chao, who had clearly been looking forward to getting his paws on an emerald. "But remember, I get the red one."
