A/N - Yeesh, it's been far too long since I've written anything! Thought I wasn't gonna update this, huh? ...Regardless, this won't be the action-packed, fireball-fueled chapter like the one before the last, but it's still just as important IMHO. :P
By the way, my thanks goes out to DarkSword512 for this story's first review evah!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise or its characters... that's SEGA's property; I DO own Frost, Alias, Tank, Gyro, and Squall (the last three being new), however. :D
Red Canyons
Just outside Madeo
1107 hrs, day 18, 3232
Two blurs of motion – one a mix of red, gunmetal, and cyan who had taken the lead, the other black with a few streaks of red and following closely beside the other blur – wove in and out of the sea of palm trees and ferns that stood between them and the next Chaos Emerald. The leading blur took a slight left turn at a giant spire of terracotta rock, then dashed past a rather short palm tree before taking a right, the other blur keeping pace effortlessly. A hairpin left turn past a large loop formation of earth and two sharp rights later, the two figures found themselves sprinting through a thicket of ferns and into a grove of palm trees that blocked their view of one of many canyon walls. With a short skid that kicked up a cloud of dust Frost came to a halt, Shadow stopping in a similar fashion nearby; the red hedgehog scratched the back of his head while looking around.
"Now, which tree was it again...?" he asked himself, glancing up at a few of the palm trees' branches as if looking for a certain something. The black furred Mobian gave him a confused look, which Frost returned only when he had moved over to the next tree in his suspicion and began to climb it; "What?" he asked, and Shadow grunted and crossed his arms with an annoyed look.
"We don't have time to be climbing trees, Frost." he muttered as he watched the red furred hedgehog climb, who finally let out a whoop in victory as he grabbed what must have been a branch and jump down with it still in his robotic grip...
There was a click, then a loud rumbling coming from the canyon wall as a section of earth slid to the side, revealing a secret passageway lit only by a couple of torches. Frost finally let go of the lever cleverly disguised as a palm tree branch, landing on both feet and smirking at Shadow who simply shrugged his shoulders before following the red hedgehog into the tunnel. The false wall moved back into its original place, the tunnel system now barely lit by the two torches on either side of the two hedgehogs; the red Mobian grabbed the one on the right before leading the way silently.
The Frozen Chronicles
Part 1, Chapter 9:
Calm Before the Storm
Madeo
The old orphanage
1149 hrs, day 18, 3232
To any visitor to this village, the orphanage was simply another building among the small wooden huts with thatched roofing; to the Mobians that lived here, it was the sole landmark and – to most of the children that lived in Madeo – their home and headquarters. One of said kids that called the old yet still functioning building "home" being the white furred echidna that sat on the front steps: his arms were held behind his head casually much like an organic pillow, his dreadlocks looking as if they had been meticulously well-kept, and his hands covered in a pair of studded, bleach white gloves. The dark gray marking on his chest – which one of the elders had called an ankh, though this Mobian had no clue what that meant – was visible to the world, though it would have been more so if his legs weren't as they were, one being brought up and the other resting atop at the ankle, his partially airborne foot tapping to nonexistent music. Both feet were covered in muddied shoes, the metal studs looking oddly pristine compared to the worn material.
The echidna, known as Tank by everybody he knew, looked up at the sky lazily. Almost noon... he observed while letting out a small sigh, When's Gyro and Squall gonna be back? he looked over at the patch of ferns that blocked his view of the sanctuary village's hidden entrance for a brief moment, before closing his eyes again and tapping his semi-airborne foot once again. He thought he heard the false wall shift to the side, and looked at the sound's source to find...no one. With a shrug, he closed his eyes again and resumed his previous attempt at relaxation. There was another rumbling noise, followed by the rustle of ferns being pushed aside; Maybe they're finally back, yeah? Tank wondered, opening an eye for the third time...
At this point in time, Frost and Shadow had finally found their way through the expansive tunnel system carved into the canyon wall; the red hedgehog was just starting to move the boulder that covered the passageway's end back into place.
"And you said you knew those tunnels like the back of your hand?" the black furred Mobian asked jokingly with an amused grin, referring to how many dead ends they had run into before stumbling out of the tunnels. Frost waved the question off with his free hand.
"Yeah, yeah...like I've said," he retorted, "I haven't been here in a while." Shadow let out a single "humph" before following the red hedgehog through the ferns. Frost looked around at the small huts and other buildings, the feeling of nostalgia taking over the pit of his stomach mixed with relief that everything was still intact. He would've continued his look around if it wasn't for the familiar echidna that caught him in a crushing bear hug.
"DUDE!" the Mobian shouted with barely contained glee, "It's been too long, yeah?" the red hedgehog, however, couldn't answer even if he wanted to: the echidna had always been able to squish the life out of people with his hugs, and this one was no exception.
"Good...to...see ya...too...Tank..." Frost managed to greet with a wince, and Tank finally dropped him with a nervous chuckle. As the hedgehog tried to breathe somewhat normally, he looked up at his old friend and grinned; "Got a strong grip as always." he joked, and the albino echidna was about to answer but was cut off by two other figures stepping out from the brush: the first was a gray furred wolf wearing a bandoleer with a few explosive charges still set in the loops, his round-rimmed glasses sitting crookedly atop his nose – before he adjusted them, of course – and obscuring his amber eyes. The second was a hedgehog whose pale blue fur contrasted his vibrant violet eyes; the three quills on the back of his head were much like Shadow's because of their natural flare upward, and a single column of three quills ran along his spine.
Gyro the wolf and Squall the hedgehog, respectively.
"Miles: long time, no see!" the wolf greeted with a wide smile and a handshake, Squall simply sufficing with a nod and a smile: Frost shook Gyro's hand and nodded back at the pale blue hedgehog, grin still in place. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the slightly confused look on Shadow's face.
"I didn't know your real name was Miles." the black hedgehog stated, and Frost simply shrugged; this caused the other three to tilt their heads in question, and the red hedgehog sighed.
"That's something we can worry about later: right now, there's more serious business to take care of." he explained to his three old friends while scratching the back of his head, finally looking over at the orphanage; "You guys still have that Chaos Emerald?" he asked, and Squall nodded silently before leading the group away from the village's border.
Madeo
Inside one of many huts
1213 hrs, day 18, 3232
"W-wait a sec: that's just crazy, yeah?!"
Tank's voice was the first to break the short yet tense silence inside the hut, only seconds after Frost had finished explaining the situation to everyone there: as expected, the echidna had an overall shocked and incredulous look on his face, and Gyro seemed to have a hard time believing this news as well – even if he was the more understanding of the group. Squall, on the flipside of the coin, was oddly collected and calm. The gray wolf fidgeted with his glasses, scrunching up his muzzle in thought.
"Let me get this straight: Alias and you were both partly roboticized, but you managed to escape..." Gyro mulled over the story verbally and earned a nod thus far from the red hedgehog in question, "And now, rather out of the blue might I add, Robotnik lets Alias loose. Your older brother turns on him, blows Robotropolis to smithereens, and is now going on a destructive rampage...did I get the gist of it?" Frost nodded again, and the albino echidna cut in once again.
"Like I told ya: it's damn crazy!" he shouted, "Sure, Alias would probably wanna blow up Robotnik an' all, but everythin' else?" he shook his head in disbelief, "That's just not like him, yeah?" the pale blue hedgehog – who had stayed silent throughout the entirety of the explanation and following outbursts – finally spoke up.
"Actually, it does make some sense;" Squall interjected, standing up fully from leaning against the wall and glancing to the side at the echidna, "I mean, think about it: roboticization is meant to be complete, not just partial." He looked over at Frost; "You said he was almost completely roboticized, right?" he was answered with a slow nod, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Then the overall stress on his body must've made his mind snap." More silence followed this theory, even though the pale blue hedgehog could've sworn he heard Tank calling him a "brainiac" under his breath.
"That's not the point:" Shadow intervened, uncrossing his arms and looking at everyone in the hut with a level yet piercing gaze, "the point is that he's after the Chaos Emeralds, and his next target is most likely this one." he pointed at the red gem in the center of the small table, its fiery red light illuminating the hut. Everyone's gaze fell to the Chaos Emerald, but the silence was broken once again; this time, by an explosion outside followed by the sound of falling rubble that must have been one of the huts.
"Speak of the devil..." was all Frost said before bolting out the door, the others following close on his heels.
A/N - And the rumble in the jungle begins! ...soon. Until then, tell me what y'all think!