Chapter 7: Relations of a Prince
"Ahh," Sonic stretched, basking in the morning sunlight. "Another perfect beginning to another perfect day." He looked around and was slightly disappointed. "Huh. Nobody's up. Oh, well. I guess I'll just hang out for now." He walked over to the small lake and tried skipping a rock, but he failed miserably as the plump rock sunk into the water. "I swear, the people who do that cheat in some way or another."
"Pikachu?"
Sonic looked to his side to see the adorable yellow Pokemon standing beside him. "Hey, Pikachu! You're up, too?"
"Pika!"
"Well, that's nice." He chuckled. "Baseball Head's a hard sleeper?"
"Pikachu," he nodded.
"I'll take that as a yes," Sonic smiled, chucking another rock only to meet the same result as before, while Pikachu scampered away. "Ugh. Either I'm doing something wrong or it's impossible to skip rocks without cheating." Resigned, he laid down and put his hands behind his head. "I'd go running, but if someone found me, it could be disastrous for all of us. Baseball Head and the gang are all right, but if the rest of this world figured us out, things could go terribly wrong, especially now that we've found other creatures similar to ourselves; they might think we're just more of them." He shuddered softly. "We need to get back home before this gets out of hand."
His ramblings were cut short by a sudden splash from the middle of the small lake, as a familiar red head popped out of the water, gasping for air. "Knuckles?"
The red echidna swam back to shore, carrying something heavy. "Oof," he muttered. "Glad I got that one back."
"What are you up to now, knucklehead?" Sonic stood up and walked over to him, smirking.
"I found a shard of the Master Emerald down in that lake this morning and went to get it," Knuckles explained. "Carrying a heavy shard to the surface is easier said than done, but even then, saying it still sounds hard!" Sonic rolled his eyes, chuckling. "Well, it doesn't matter now. It's here, and I'm one step closer to restoring the Master Emerald."
Sonic eyed the shard curiously. "Exactly what happened to it?"
"Eggman's robot attacked and shattered it. When it did, Chaos appeared, along with that egg Tails had."
Sonic's eyes widened. "The Prince of the Sea?!"
"Yes. It seemed that Chaos wanted to do something with him. Whatever happens, we need to protect him from Eggman."
Sonic nodded. "We'll do that. But that raises another question."
"What's that?"
"The locals called that guy a Pokemon, which is clearly from this world. Yet it was sealed away in the Master Emerald, which was from our world. How can that be?"
Knuckles put a fist to his chin, pondering. "That's definitely a stopper. But I think I have an explanation for that...or something like one."
"Shoot."
"Well, you see, Chaos wasn't always the way he is now. He was once a regular Chao, as small and childlike as can be. But when he was exposed to the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, he mutated into the creature we find ourselves up against now."
"Okay, that makes sense, but that doesn't explain the Prince."
"Yes, it does." Sonic was puzzled. "You see, Chaos wasn't the only one who underwent mutation."
Sonic's eyes widened. "You mean –"
"That's right," Knuckles nodded. "The Prince of the Sea is another mutated Chao, much like Chaos."
Sonic put a hand to his chin, pondering. "Well, that doesn't exactly explain how they were both sealed away in the Master Emerald, but it does explain, if only a little, why Eggman has his eyes on the lil' guy."
"It's a start," Knuckles agreed, picking up the shard. "But it's insufficient, and I don't have time to wonder about it. There are still many pieces of the Master Emerald I need to find."
"How's Angel Island, by the way?"
Knuckles sighed. "It fell while it was floating over the sea."
Sonic gasped. "Oh no!"
"It's fine, Sonic," Knuckles assured him. "We got really lucky: it fell onto a small island and is situated just right. If it had floated a millimeter more before falling, it would have sunk into the sea."
"Hmph," Sonic muttered. "And they call it an island."
"Only because it floats through the sky," Knuckles explained. "If it were to fall into the sea, it would sink. I need to find the rest of the emerald shards, restore the Emerald, and then steer it back to dry land so as to ensure its safety."
Sonic nodded. "Then we'll help you however we can."
"That won't be necessary. I can gather the rest of the shards myself."
"Suit yourself," Sonic shrugged. With that, the echidna walked away, dragging the shard behind him. The blue blur shrugged and followed him back to camp.
Pikachu laid himself down, stuffed as always when he'd eaten breakfast. It would be a good few minutes before he felt like moving around again.
"Phy?"
He looked up, surprised to see Manaphy standing over him. "Pi?"
"Mana Mana Phy!" Manaphy smiled.
"Pika," Pikachu sighed, laying down.
"Phy?" Manaphy pleaded.
Pikachu looked up again and smiled. "Pi Pikachu?"
"Mana Phy!"
Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Pika Pikachu, Pi."
Manaphy looked sad. "Mama."
Pikachu was puzzled. "Pi?"
"Mana, Mana Phy, Mama, Mana, Happy!" Manaphy explained.
Pikachu nodded. "Pika, Pikachu, Pikapi. Pi Pikachu."
"Phy?"
"Pika."
"Manaphy!"
"Mama!" the little blue Pokemon exclaimed, jumping into her arms.
"There you are," May smiled. "I was looking all over for you." Her face fell again as she sat on a rock.
"Mama?" Manaphy wondered. "Mana! Happy!"
She smiled weakly and unconvincingly. "I am, Manaphy. How could I not be? Being a mother is one of the happiest experiences of a woman's life!"
"Phy," Manaphy sighed, downcast. Pikachu perked suddenly.
"Pi Pikachu! Pika, Pikapi!" he exclaimed.
"Phy? Mana! Mana Phy! Happy!" Manaphy exclaimed, jumping out of May's arms while he and Pikachu ran off towards the lake.
"Hey!" May giggled. "Where are you two going?"
"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu called back without looking. May just chuckled, sliding down so she could lean against the rock she'd been sitting on.
"Well, at least he likes Pikachu."
May jumped and looked up. "Ash? Oh, jeez...don't scare me like that! I didn't even see you there."
"Sorry," the raven-haired teen shrugged, sitting on the rock above her. "I just got here. Heck, if I didn't know better, I'd say Pikachu had Manaphy run off with him because I was coming." He chuckled.
The air quickly became awkwardly silent as the two teens sat there, unsure of what to say. Ash put a hand behind his head while May nervously scratched her arm, shifting uncomfortably.
"Um...May?" Ash stuttered, looking away from her as he broke the silence, "Uh...about last night…"
She looked up at him, a sad look on her face. "Yeah...about that…"
"Sorry for being such a jerk," he sighed, sliding down to sit next to her and leaning his arms on his legs. "I don't know what came over me."
"I'm sorry, too," she replied. "I didn't mean to be mean by teasing you like that. I thought you wouldn't mind."
"I usually don't," he mused. "But last night I guess I decided I don't like it anymore. Don't ask me why, because I really don't understand it myself. In any case, you weren't being mean at all. Everything you said last night was something that had been said to me before, whether by you or by someone else."
She smiled, a bit more genuinely, though there was still some sadness in her smile. "I'll remember that."
He looked up at her, smiling slightly. "So are we good?"
She smiled and stood up, motioning for him to do so. "Yeah."
"Well that's good," he nodded, extending a hand for her to shake. She looked at it a moment, puzzled.
Hm she thought. Should I? We just made up, but...oh, heck. I'll just go for it. With that, she grinned coyly at him as she pushed his hand to the side and wrapped her arms around him in a light hug.
"May –!?" he stuttered in shock, arms stiff at his sides. She quickly let go of him, blushing slightly.
"Sorry," she shrugged. "I don't know what came over me."
Ash raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "I'd rather you just shake my hand."
"I know," she nodded. "You know, one day you probably won't mind it so much."
"When?" he asked.
She just winked at him. "I guess we'll just have to find out."
