Crap, I'm back in school again. GRRR!! Anyway, since it's the weekend (yes, my first day back was Friday), I'll just update this next chappie! Enjoy!
Early the next day, the group made it to a snowy area further up north from where they live. Tails was a little bit sleepy, because he had to miss some nap time, since he was the pilot. Suddenly, rough winds started rushing in, causing the plane to shake side to side crazily.
"Whoa, ahh!" the fox widened his eyes as he tried to keep the plane in control.
"What's wrong?" Amy asked.
"This plane can't handle these rough winds", the orange fox said. "I gotta land this plane right away." With that said, he pressed the emergency landing button and the plane automatically landed on the cold ground, filled with sheets of deep snow.
Everyone got out of the X-Tornado. All of the sudden, the winds rushed back in, causing everyone to shiver. It was extremely cold out, way under zero degrees. Plus, the creatures had their eyes closed so the snow wouldn't get in their eyes. Eventually, the winds stopped, but the cold breeze still made everyone quiver. Except for Omega, because he was a robot of course.
"High winds approaching from the far north", he calculated.
"Thank you, weatherman", Sonic said sarcastically. "BRR!!" he rubbed his arms in order to keep himself warm.
"Where's the damn Emerald?" Rouge asked as she shivered some more.
"Searching for Emerald…" the red and black robot started turning his robotic head around in circles, so that way he can detect the powerful gem. His head looked to the left. "That way", he turned his whole body to that direction and pointed straight.
"Let's get moving", Knuckles spoke.
"Well…I might have to let you guys go without me", Tails said as he rubbed his hands. "See, I gotta keep an eye on the X-Tornado, so that way it won't get blown away and such."
"N-N-N-No p-p-p-p-p-prob-b-b-b-blem", Sonic raised up a frosty thumb's up.
"We must hurry", Omega stated. "Sometime soon, the winds will become more powerful and possible chance of hail."
"Wow! You can forecast the weather?" the bee asked with curiosity.
"But how are we going to get to the Emerald quickly?" Vector asked as he rubbed his arms. "The snow's kinda deep, so walking won't do anything."
"Hold that thought", Tails thought of something. As fast as he could, he ran back to his plane and looked inside for something. Then he pulled out a small brown briefcase. He opened it and found lots of capsules. He took about 4 of the capsules, sat the briefcase back, and went back to his team. "Watch this", he walked in front of everyone. He strongly threw the capsules and they exploded into smoke. When the smoke cleared, everyone were glancing at four highly developed snowmobiles.
"Wow", Charmy was the only one to make that comment.
"Those snowmobiles should be good enough to take you guys to the Emerald", the kitsune explained. "Good luck and hurry back. If the weather starts getting bad, I'll come look for you guys."
"Got it", Espio nodded.
Prepared for action, the gang went to the separate snowmobiles. Shadow got on the dark red one as Amy joined him. The Chaotix nabbed the light green one and got settled. Vector was going to be the driver. Knuckles was able to take the gray one as Rouge took the yellow one.
"What about me?" the blue hedgehog raised his hand unhappily.
"So what about you?" Knuckles said rudely.
"Oh, for peace sakes", Tails slapped his forehead. He got another capsule and threw it out in the opening. A blue snowmobile was seen after the smoke cleared up.
"Thank you", Sonic gave his buddy a thumb's up and rushed to the vehicle.
"I am fine. I have jet boosters built on my back", Omega said.
"Alright, now hurry", Tails waved goodbye.
Readily, Omega was the first one to take off, since he knew here the Emerald was. Next, Shadow drove his snowmobile quickly in order to follow him. Behind him, the Chaotix, Knuckles, Rouge, and Sonic followed him at steady speed. Tails went back to his plane so he could get things prepared for later.
Through a whole hour, the heroes rode through the snowy weather. Apparently, the winds were getting stronger than anyone thought it would. Luckily, the snowmobiles didn't get blown over. Plus, the snow was falling fast on everyone, so they were really cold. Finally, Omega stopped in front of a large cave. The others stopped their snowmobiles and got off of them.
"This way", Omega said as he walked into the cave.
Quietly, the others followed. The entrance was sort of small, so their snowmobiles wouldn't fit right through. Now they had to walk for the time being. Espio and Vector turned on their flashlights so everyone could see in the dark, icy cave. Amy couldn't stop shivering and kept rubbing her arms repeatedly. Suddenly, Shadow wrapped an arm around her and brought her close to his white fury chest. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, beginning to feel warm. He blushed again. Behind them, Sonic raised an eyebrow. He didn't know that those two were close, considering he hasn't seen them since three months ago. In fact, he didn't like that scene. Was he getting jealous? Before long, he stopped as his nose started twitching.
"Ah…Ah…Ah…" he tried to hold his sneeze.
"Don't even think about it", Shadow looked back at him coldly.
"Ah-!" the blue hedgehog plugged his nose. He sighed in relief once he didn't feel any tickles in his nose.
"ACHOO!!" Charmy suddenly sneezed loudly, causing everyone to stop and listen to his echoes. "Sorry", he turned to everyone with an innocent smile as he sweatdropped.
"Cover your mouth, you idiot!" Vector snapped at him.
"Danger!" Omega looked up.
Cautiously, everybody looked up. Large icicles were starting to detach themselves from the ceiling. One of them was falling towards the three hedgehogs. Shadow carried Amy in bridal style and dived forward as Sonic did a backflip. However, more icicles began to fall down towards the others! All of them jumped out of the way. Just then, the ceiling shook and the icicles were close to head their way down.
"Run!" Knuckles yelled out.
Hurriedly, the group got up and ran for their lives. As they ran, they were able to avoid getting killed by the large icicles falling behind them. Because of the sharp ends crashed below, the ground started shaking as cracks formed. Cowardly, Charmy and Vector went up ahead of everyone as they screamed with fear.
"Hey! Where do you two think you're going!?" the chameleon yelled out to them ungratefully.
"We're getting the H-E-double hockey sticks out of here!" the bee said as he flew forward some more.
"Yeah, like what he said!" Vector panted as he tried to keep up with him.
Quickly, everyone reached to the exit and escaped before a lot more icicles could've killed them. Thinking that everything was alright, they stopped running to catch their breath. But was that the end of danger?
"Incoming avalanche!" the robot looked back and up.
"Say what!?" Sonic widened his eyes with fret.
Gasping to themselves, the gang looked back and saw lots of snow sliding down from a mountain's peak. Instead of standing around, they turned around and started running as fast as they could. However, the avalanche was catching up to them. They didn't think that it would be difficult to find the Emerald here. Turns out that it was rather challenging.
"Wait a minute, I can fly", Rouge said as she flapped her wings. Then she took off to the sky.
"Hey! Get back here!" the echidna commanded heatedly.
"Oh, please", the bat rolled her eyes.
"Oh, no you don't!" Charmy appeared in front of her by surprise. "I gotta keep my eye on you!" he pointed at her rudely.
"Great", Rouge slapped her forehead. "This could slow me down."
Vector suddenly tripped on a rock and fell down. Although, he started spinning around into a huge snowball. Then he started rolling down the hill. Without warning, the snowball caught Espio while he was running. Then it started spinning down faster. Worried about the two, everyone else started running faster. The rushing snow started sliding down a lot faster. Successfully, it caught everyone off guard and made them slide down along with the snow.
"Emergency! Emergency!" Omega spoke.
"Yeah it is!" Sonic said fearfully.
Further ahead, Vector and Espio were getting dizzy from spinning in the giant snowball. Suddenly, they flew in the air, because the snowball reached to an edge. Only Vector screamed with panic as he and Espio fell down as they spun around. After that, the snowball landed on the ground, causing it to burst Espio and Vector out. Meanwhile, the others were still riding with the avalanche. But then, more snow covered them up until they reached to an edge. They were then pushed off and were sent down from 50 feet high! Amy shut her eyes tight, Sonic prayed to God to save his souls, Knuckles gulped, and Shadow and Omega were preparing themselves to land. Safely, Shadow (with Amy holding on to him still) and Omega landed as Sonic and Knuckles fell into the snowy ground, making holes in it. Off guard, the last of the avalanche fell on them. Charmy and Rouge were flying in air as they watched everything happened. Curiously, they went down and landed on the deep snow.
"Whoa", Rouge was the first one to comment.
"Guys?" Charmy looked around.
Espio used his kunai to cut the snow out of the way and reached to the surface. He gasped for some air and then climbed out of the small hole. Right behind him, Vector climbed out, landed on his stomach, and sighed with frustration. Omega used his hands as drills and got him, Shadow and Amy out of the snow. Knuckles dug his way out of the snow as Sonic used his spin dash to get free. Thankfully, they were able to live through that avalanche.
"Was it fun?" Charmy asked his detective buddies cheerfully. He received a small pound on the head. "Oww!" he rubbed his head in pain.
"No it wasn't fun!" Vector hollered angrily. "We almost got killed because of you!"
"I'm sorry", the bee lowered his head sadly.
"Hey, don't go so hard on him, Vector. It wasn't his fault. He just sneezed for God's sakes", Espio said calmly.
"Yeah, don't be mean to Charmy!" Amy pulled out her mallet and whacked Vector on the head.
"OUCH!!" the lime green creature rubbed his head with soreness and ache.
"Oh…Amy's so nice and carefree to me", Charmy thought passionately as he looked at Amy with hearts in his eyes.
"We must keep going", the robot suggested.
"Lead the way", Rouge replied.
Minutes later, they stopped at a spot and noticed a path of ice in front of them. Omega pointed forward, letting everyone know that they were getting close to the jewel. First up, Sonic began to walk onto the ice. But then, he slipped.
"Aah!" he said and then fell on his back. "Ouch."
"Hm…" Knuckles said as he tip toed to the icy land. He was a little ahead of Sonic, but then he slipped and fell on his face. "Ouch! Dammit!" he stood up on his arms.
"D'oh!" Vector only took one step and slipped backwards.
"Too bad I can fly!" the bee teased as he flew forward. Omega and Rouge followed him until they reached to the other side.
Carefully, Espio began to walk onto the ice. He had to keep his balance and to be patient, so that way he won't face any injuries like the three did just now. He wasn't really nervous, just cautious on his surroundings and steadiness. As Sonic and Knuckles helped Vector up, Shadow and Amy ice skated to the other side, arm to arm.
"Oh sure! Not giving us a hand, eh?" the crocodile pouted.
Following Shadow's lead, Espio used his feet like ice-skates and reached to the other side. Now they all were waiting on Sonic, Knuckles, and Vector. The three timidly began to tip-toe forward as they had their arms opened out to the side so they could keep their balance. Knuckles did try to ice-skate, but he slid back until Sonic and Vector caught him. Slowly, they continued walking steadily. After a while, they were half way there.
"We're almost there", Sonic said with gladness.
"Finally", Vector sighed as he lowered his head. Accidentally, he stepped on the ice incorrectly and slid back. "Whoooa!" he said and landed on his back roughly. "Ouch!"
Shrugging with exhaustion and frustration, Sonic and Knuckles went back to aid him. Both of them tried to pull him up, but then they slipped and fell on their backs also. "Oww", the two said. All of the sudden, the three began to hear some crackles.
"Wait a minute…" the echidna sat up and looked at the cracks forming. "We're on thin ice!"
"SAY WHAT?!" Vector and Sonic turned to him surprisingly and frightfully.
At that moment, the three fell into the freezing cold water. They came back up to the surface as they were now frozen icicles. All of them had their arms around their chests for warmth, their chattering teeth were showing, and their bodies looked light blue.
"Oh dear", Espio slapped his forehead. "Who's going to help them out?"
After Omega saved the three slowpokes, the team continued forward. About ten minutes later, they came across an edge. As the sun started coming out a little, they took a peek and saw nothing but snowy hills far ahead. They looked down and saw a large frosted forest. If Shadow had an Emerald, he would've Chaos Controlled everyone further ahead in no time! But since he didn't have one, the group had to think a way on how to get going. From the looks of the forest, the trees were icy and the twigs looked pretty sharp, because of the ice attached to them.
"Any ideas?" Amy shrugged her shoulders.
"Maybe we should find another way around", Charmy scratched his head.
"Negative", the red robot responded. "It would only waste our time."
"Great. Now what?" Knuckles threw his hands in the air for a few seconds and let them hang down to the side.
"Well, that's an interesting question to ask", an evil voice said.
"That voice", Shadow narrowed his eyebrows suspiciously. He turned to his left and saw the same villain, standing there with his arms crossed. "It's him."
Wondering who he was talking about, everyone else looked at the evil hedgehog. Rouge, Espio, Sonic, and Knuckles narrowed their eyebrows meanly, since they remembered that heartless bastard. Omega began to scan the antihero, Charmy blinked twice with confusion, Vector had his jaws dropped in shock, and Amy gulped with fear. Yes, it was Mephiles.
"Hmm…" the dark hedgehog looked over at the female hedgehog. "Oh. I didn't notice you there, beautiful. My name is Mephiles", he glared at her evilly.
"Grr!!" Shadow puts an arm in front of Amy for protection.
"Come with me, young bride", Mephiles continued to communicate with Amy. "Let us take over the world with an iron fist. I will grant you any wishes you want. Name them and I will give them to you."
"Hmph!" Charmy zoomed up next to Amy and puts an arm in front of her also. "Nice try, buddy, but you're gonna have to ask somebody else."
"Charmy…" Amy looked at him surprisingly.
"I know I don't want to be the damsel in distress, but what does HE see in HER than me?" Rouge thought with some sense of jealousy.
"Back for some more, eh?" Knuckles crackled his fists.
"Well, I don't want to waste my time", Mephiles answered. "I only came here to find the Emerald."
"Lemme guess, you followed us here", Espio spoke seriously.
"Correct", the evil doer chuckled. "I was surprised that you all were able to survive that avalanche. If you're wondering how you guys weren't able to notice me, I was able to hide in the shadows and watched you all from above."
"Just because you followed us here, doesn't mean that we're gonna let you take off without a fight", Sonic said frigidly.
"Oh, but I will. Not only I'll have the Emerald…I'll have the girl too", Mephiles looked at Amy again, making her tremble with fear.
"Well, you're gonna have to get through me first", Shadow said bravely.
"Is that so?" the black and gray hedgehog chuckled again. "Ok, then. This will be your funeral", he charged up his powers.
OH NO, PEOPLES! MEPHILES IS BACK! CAN SHADOW AND THE OTHERS DEFEAT HIM? WILL AMY BE SAFE FROM HARM? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!