The Chaos Emeralds.
It is a thing of immeasurable power. It grants joy to the suffering, victory to those on the verge of defeat, life to the dead...shining like a star in the hands of it's wielder, it possesses the power to turn one's thoughts into reality. It makes the impossible possible. Men honor it and worship what it can do. People believe it to be a gift from God.
Yet what is required to make it...
Is the work of the Devil.
Episode Ten:
We Are All Connected!
我々は、すべての接続されて!
"So tell me again, what was it that he was saying?" Shadow wanted to know, frowning slightly as he looked over at the Wax, who was looking on a snazzy metal clipboard which showed off a transcript of the phone call Mighty had made the other day.
"Hmm. "This is Mighty from Central City! I'm calling because this is an important emergency! My codename's "Sapphire"! Hurry it up...the entire government is in extreme danger". Those were his exact words." He went on, leading Shadow into the archive room.
The black-furred hedgehog examined the place, looking over the scattered papers. "Did he get into a fight with somebody?" He asked, seeing the state of the room.
"We believe so." The Wax pointed at the ground and out the door. "There's a blood trail leading from inside the room out into the hallway. "He then tried to place a call HERE, but changed his mind and went outside."
"...why outside?" Shadow wondered. He rubbed his chin, thinking this over. He had deliberately tried to contact him. HIM. Not somebody else in the government...a private call of extreme importance...
Shadow headed outside the library to the phone booth that Mighty had been in, eyes intently gazing at the receiver. What had he been thinking about?...what?
"Sir?" Shadow turned his head to see Rouge and Knuckles were standing some distance away. "I've brought Knuckles."
"We DO have some suspects as to who murdered Mighty." Knuckles told Shadow, saluting briskly...before he dropped his hand and deeply, sadly sighed. "But we don't know who those people ARE."
"Why can't you tell me?" Shadow snapped. "Are you going to disobey a superior officer?"
"I can't tell you." Knuckles said firmly, eyes looking intently into Shadow's face.
"...fine. Get out of my sight." Shadow muttered, waving his hand dismissively. Knuckles walked off as Rouge turned to look over at Shadow, who folded his arms and bit his lip. "...it's good enough."
"Huh?"
"He said SUSPECTS...and THOSE people. People working as a group are responsible...and the fact that he couldn't tell me anything even though I'm of a higher rank means that somebody forbade him to talk...somebody of an even higher rank. If they're maintaining this level of secrecy...it's somebody from the senior staff...and I've only seen this level of cover-up from one place...regarding what the Metal Brotherhood are looking for."
"...what's that?" Rouge wanted to know.
"The Chaos Emeralds."
Rouge's eyes shot open in surprise. She let in a harsh breath. "Wh-WHAT?" She asked. "Then...an organization with connections to the senior staff...with knowledge of the Chaos Emeralds...this is serious...Mighty might have stumbled onto something incredibly dangerous..."
"I'm going to be positioned at Central Headquarters soon...I'll be able to fully examine the Senior Staff. I'll smoke out whoever killed Mighty." Shadow promised.
"You know I'm with you, 100 percent, right?" Rouge insisted, giving him a grin.
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Shadow remarked, giving her a grin right back.
...
...
...
..."Boy, what a spectacular adventure we had yesterday!" Tails told Sonic as they sat together on the train that would take them into Angel Island's capital. "Three characters we'll never meet again, a reaffirmation of something we already believed in, AND we dropped Amy off on a bus for a little while to help her get better at making rings!"
"Yeah, and how convenient that we did it all off-screen, too." Sonic agreed, looking out the window.
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Y'know...I was thinking about HIM." Sonic remarked, eyes slightly glazing over with memory as he rested his head on his hand and sighed a bit. Those sky blue eyes continued to haunt his dreams...that look on his father's face.
"...I wonder where he is." Tails commented quietly.
"...yep." Sonic sighed.
"Yeeep." Tails said right back.
"Mmm-hmm."
"...yep."
...
...
...
...the capital of Angel Island was a vaguely Greco-Roman place with ivory pillars on the largest buildings, fountains littered everywhere, and finely-paved roads. The windows were mostly stained glass on the big train station, which had an enormous circular roof at the top, with sunshine beaming in through the glass. The city was located at the base of the highest mountains on the island, with a waterfall flowing down the slopes towards one particularly huge lake.
"So...here we are." Sonic said as they headed down main street and up towards a shop that had a big ring of flowers on the front with an "Open" sign attached. There was a nice little mat that read "Welcome" beneath the front door, and a bell attached to the door, small and silver, which would let all know when somebody was walking inside. It had big, pinkish-rimmed windows and an overhang of bright green, and a tribal decorative pattern made of triangles and circles running around the door. A "good luck" seal. "...maybe we'll be lucky."
"Maybe."
"There's a chance she isn't home. There's a chance she might not even be in the city..." Sonic gulped.
The door creaked open and their eyes went wide as a man stepped out. Before them was a strong, powerful-looking, dark-brown-furred Echidna with a thick white beard and intensely reddish/purple eyes. He was wearing a very thick necklace of jade and had eyebrows that were so thick you could have sworn they were almost alive. He frowned, putting the spear down and to the side.
"Thought you were those wild flickies that keep getting into the trash. They actually snuck INSIDE once." He told the two. "...gettin' inside the sugar drawer. Gettin' BOLD."
"Yeah, that's...problematic 'n stuff." Sonic commented nervously. Oh God...those eyebrows...they're...so...BIG!
"Yeah, you should always be careful of pests, Mr. Pachacamac!" Tails said, nodding his head eagerly. Holy cow, I think they're bigger than his ARMS, those things on his head...
"You know Sonic, you've grown since I last saw you." The echidna said, nodding vigorously and rubbing his head, then rubbing Tails's head.
"Ohhhh yeaaaah." Tails said happily, his tails whacking against the ground. "Oh, that's the spot. OOHHHH that's the spot..."
"Hold on a moment." Pachacamac stepped back inside the house and called up the stairs. "Tikaaaaal! Your favorite furry fraternal friends are here."
"...the prodigal sons have returned?"
"Yep! Can you get out of bed?"
"I'm fine. Doing a little better today, actually. Be right down!" A distinctly feminine voice called right back.
"She's lying down cuz she's not feeling better?...I guess her health hasn't improved." Sonic said, turning to look at Tails.
Or rather, that's what he was ABOUT to say. Instead, he was interrupted halfway through "hasn't" as a foot slammed into his face and he was sent flying backwards through the air, hitting the small little grassy front yard their teacher had, ruining a patch of violets. Tails, meanwhile, had been knocked to the side by a the door that had flown open to let their teacher out and was lying on the ground, blinking stupidly as he looked up into the clouds.
"So much for teach having "health issues"." Tails finally got out, gasping at the sight of the growling figure that was standing there, fists clenched tightly.
"You stupid, STUPID...CHILD! I heard you went and sold out...you're a "Hog of the Military" now! Is that true?"
She then turned to look at Tails and blinked a few times, and now her features were once more recognizable. A gentle-faced echinda with pretty cobalt eyes and orange/peach fur, a tribal dress of green, white and pink triangles, and small golden rings on her arms...two blue rings on her wrists, and a golden headband and necklace with a small blue gem in the center...this was Tikal, their old teacher, their dear mentor.
"Tails? Oh, I'm so sorry!" She immediately apologized, quickly lifting him back up and dusting the grass off of him. "You alright?" She wanted to know, a gentle look of concern on her features. She then blinked a few times. "Wait...you smell...off."
"I'm surprised you're out of bed and feeling better. I thought you weren't feeling better." Sonic remarked, rubbing his head as he walked over to her.
"HA! Nonsense, I'm fine." Tikal said, putting one hand on her chest as Tails looked over at Sonic. "Now that you're here, let's-"
BLURGH!
Some blood streamed out of her mouth for a few moments as she coughed a few times, and Sonic and Tails let out simultaneous screeches of surprise and horror. "JEEEESUS CHRIST!"
"Honey, don't overexert yourself." Pachacamac insisted, patting Tikal on the shoulder.
"Ohhh, you always get so worried over me." The echidna told her elder, hugging him tightly. "It's so sweet of you. Thank you, father."
...
...
...
... "The Chaos Emeralds never really piqued my interest." Tikal told Sonic and Tails as they sat inside her home. She'd made them all tea and was now munching slightly on a cinnamon scone. "Not my "thing"."
"Okaaaaaay." Sonic remarked, nodding firmly a few times. "I get it."
"But wait." Pachacamac spoke up. "Tikal, didn't you meet somebody in Central City who was very knowledgeable about Life Magic? That was only 2, 3 years ago."
Sonic and Tails's eyes widened. "R-really? What was his name?"
Tikal rubbed her chin, thinking back. "Yes, I remember him. Eyes like those are hard to forget. I think his name was...NiGHTS..."
Sonic stiffened. Tails took in a harsh breath. "...grrrr..." Sonic growled.
"You know him?" Tikal remarked, looking confused.
"...he's our father." Tails murmured.
"...so that bastard's still kickin', huh..." Sonic mumbled furiously.
"Ohhh. The father you said left you and your mother all those years ago. That "deadbeat, dirty bum", that's the one?" Tikal asked.
"Uh-huh." The two brothers said with a firm nod.
Tikal then blinked stupidly, suddenly feeling even MORE confused. "...wait. How is that..." She looked from Tails to Sonic. "...I mean...neither of you LOOK..."
"That JERK. It's because of him mom died. It's HIS fault..." Sonic hissed, gloved hands digging into his leg.
It was early in the morning. The sun was barely poking it's head over the Earth as Sonic rubbed his eyes, looking down the hallway at the sight of his mother standing there by their father as he hoisted a backpack on, looking solemn. Aleena turned to look upon her son and blinked a few times, then smiled gently. "Oh, what are you doing Olgilvie, Miles?"
"Miles said he had ta go to da bathroom." Olgilvie told them his mother.
"Aww, how nice of you to look after your brother." Aleena said, gently stroking her son's head, smiling broadly. "Good on you, Olgilvie!"
His dad blinked a few times, looking down upon him. His bright blue eyes stared intently at Sonic's green ones, his two-pronged purple hat hanging down, unmoving. It was as if he was a wax sculpture. He cat-like eyes were unreadable as he finally turned and floated out the open door...
And with that, he was gone from their lives, never to come back. Their mother...would never ever explain when he'd get back. She always kept quiet...always kept smiling. Dad would always 'come back soon'. But he never did.
Life just went on without him, and the two kids didn't think that much about it, because Mom was there, and they were happy. What else did they need?
One day it all went wrong. Their mom was slumped on the ground, barely breathing. Their perfect world was crumbling around them. Sonic was aware that his brother was screaming. He was unable to feel anything but the crushing cold running up his body seeing that figure on the floor.
No...no, it couldn't be. Mom couldn't be hurt. Mom was strong. Mom could never be...
Sonic was now biting his lip deeply as Tails felt it wise to change the subject slightly. "So, did he say anything about the Chaos Emeralds?"
"Hmm. He did say something about how he had a "big wish unfulfilled"...and he seemed so happy about having it come true." Tikal admitted, nodding her head. "...but enough of that. Let's eat!"
Soon all of them were sitting around, enjoying a fine meal of home-cooked meatloaf, bread rolls, corn and peppers. It was one of the best things they'd ever had! Well, best meals SONIC had ever had. Tails, sadly, was unable to partake in any of it, though he was furiously scribbling down the recipe for the meatloaf on his little notepad.
"How come you don't want to try any of it yourself?" Pachacamac wanted to know, looking a bit confused as he held a slice of meatloaf on his fork up for Tails to sniff.
"Oh, I had quite a lot to eat on the train. We've been very busy, y'know." The fox went on, eagerly nodding his head.
"You know, we helped a woman give birth off-screen." Sonic commented. "Everybody gave it their all and it was really inspirational!"
"Yes, life is something to be proud of, isn't it?" Tikal said quietly, munching on a roll. "...you should take pride in your lives. You've both accomplished so much..."
"You sure haven't changed much, have you?" Sonic thought to himself, looking back on the first time they'd met their teacher.
SOME TWO YEARS AFTER ALEENA'S DEATH...
The water was rising higher and higher towards the hills where the town was, the river overflowing from days and days of rain. Desperately people tried to stack bags and bags of cement to keep the floodwaters from reaching higher ground, but the young hedgehog and fox were keenly aware that this wasn't going to last.
Their fears were confirmed minutes later when the dam burst and people ran back, horrified. "Head for higher ground!" Was the cry as they rushed away...past an advancing female echidna who looked at the oncoming flow of water, frowning a bit.
She held one hand up and then spread her fingers out, thrusting her palm forward. "BACK!" She roared out.
THWOOOOOSHAAAAA! The water flowed back into the river, and Tikal then raised up her other hand. "Riiiiise." She demanded, as the earth below her glowed brightly. Instantly enormous metal structures shot up from the ground, forming a protective wall-like structure right on the spot
"And that'll do it. You know what I feel like?" The echidna said, turning to an older gentleman. "Smoothies. I could go for a nice smoothie right now. Something with melons in it."
"...woaaaaah." All of the men and women who'd been working on the barrier from before commented as onlookers gasped. "Who are you?"
"Just a simple retired priestess passing by-"
BLUUURGH!
She vomited some blood on the spot and everybody simultaneously sweat-dropped. "Uhhhhhh..."
"I'm fine...I'm...I'm fine..." Tikal moaned as her father held her steady and the fox and the hedgehog looked at each other, then at her.
"Please take us on as your pupils, miss!" The two of them exclaimed.
"Look, uh...I can't." Tikal said nervously, shaking her head and then looking away. "Shouldn't you be going back to your parents?"
"We don't have any."
"......" Tikal blinked slowly, turning her head to look back at the mournful faces of the two. "...awww, heck. Do I really have a choice?...okay. Okay. From now on...you two will be my pupils." She informed the two.
...
...
...
...Tikal had taken young Olgilvie and Miles to a private island located on the largest lake of Angel Island. It was surrounded by almost two miles of water, and they had to stay there. For two months.
"Uhhh...what?"
"Explain this again?"
"It's very simple." Tikal said as she stood in the boat with her father, arms folded. "This is the provisional training. You have to survive on your own for the next month. Do that...and I'll train you for real. And you're not to use ANY magic. Trust me...I'll know if you do." She said, tapping the side of her head and giving them a look.
"...er..." The two nervously glanced at each other. THIS...could be a problem. "Uh...are there...wild animals living here?"
"What is Magic? Provide the answer for me at the end of the month. If not...I'm sending you back home. Oh, and here!"
She tossed them a knife and it landed on the sand. "This'll help. Goodbye!"
She then waved cheerfully as the two looked at her. "But...but..." Miles began.
Olgilvie sobbed. "SONOFA-"
...
...
...
... "I'm hungry." Miles mumbled as they rested against a tree and looked up at the sky.
"I wanna sleep in a BED."
"...HOW IS THIS TRAINING FOR MAGIC?" Olgilvie yelled angrily, shaking his fists in the air at the moon, pretending it was Tikal's face. "CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU TO-"
Gruuummmbllllle...
"...ohhhh, my stomaaaaaaach..." Olgilvie moaned, leaning back against the tree.
"Do you really think the boys will be alright?" Pachacamac asked his daughter as he rolled out a loaf of bread onto the table, frowning slightly as he sprinkled some herbs on.
"As I learned, the best sort of knowledge is what you gain from experience." Tikal told her dad as she got to work on setting the table for dinner. "This will be the best way to drive home the basic essentials of Magic into them. If they don't learn anything from this, it means they haven't the potential to be my pupils." She sighed. "I KNOW it's harsh, but sometimes you need to be cruel to be kind. I've got a good feeling about them, you know." She added, nodding her head to the side.
"It's their lives I'm worried about. What if they are seriously hurt?" Pachacamac said, finishing up the bread roll.
"In case you forgot, I was up at Nocturne for an entire month, in the cold wind, fighting off bears! GODLESS KILLING MACHINES." She added, waving a finger in the air.
"Honey, that's an unfair comparison. These are stupid kids. They don't have the balls you do." Pachacamac informed her.
"...I know...I know." She sighed. "That island has plenty of things to eat. They won't die."
THE NEXT MORNING...
"I'm not doing it." Olgilvie said, shaking his head vigorously as he handed the knife back to Miles. "You do it."
"Ohhhh no!" Miles said as they stood over a wild rabbit that they'd caught in a rope trap. "Non-sapient or not, I REFUSE to add to our collected inhumanity by killing that poor thing!" He said, shoving the knife back on Miles.
"You're only saying that because you kept reading "Watership Down"!" Olgilvie snapped at him. "C'moooon!"
"I can't stab something that I'd keep as a PET! Can't we just eat berries or something?" Miles insisted.
"I can't keep doing these "Bambi eyes" for much longer..." the rabbit thought to itself.
"YOU do it!"
"YOU do it!"
"YOU do-"
It was then that the point was made moot, as a wild fox promptly leapt out of the bush, grabbed the rabbit, and scampered off.
"...Miles...if I were to suggest we kill and eat that fox...would you consider it cannibalism?"
"...no. No, I would not." Miles said, gripping the knife tightly.
They ran after the fox, rushing past brush and flowers to see...the mommy was depositing the now-dead rabbit in front of two cubs.
"...oh." Olgilvie commented.
"...OH."
"...awwwwww." The two said at the same time, looking at the cubs. "They're so CUUUU-"
Then the cubs began chewing into the rabbit, stripping fur from flesh, matting their muzzles with blood.
"...let's stick to fish." Olgilvie decided, holding his stomach and his mouth as Miles dry-heaved into a nearby bush.
"Uh...how are we supposed to catch the fish if we've got no rods, nets or hooks?" Miles managed to get out.
"...god...dammit." Olgilvie muttered, just as thunder cracked overhead.
...
...
...
... "We've been here for SEVEN DAYS." Miles muttered as he leaned against a tree which had seven marks in it. "...I almost sunk to the level of nibbling on my brother's ear. And now..." He sighed and looked at the sight of his brother stuffing ants into his mouth. "...are you okay?" He asked, sighing sadly.
Olgilvie began coughing madly, panting and heaving as he held his chest. "GOD, they were sour, I...I can't believe I just ate..."
And with that, his eyes widened. A horrifying, sad realization hit him. He thought about everything that was around him, everything that he'd enjoyed before. He thought about the meals his mom had made him and Miles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He thought about the animals he and Miles had seen.
"I'm alive...because I ate those ants...I'm alive...from eating life. I..." He held his head down slightly, then bit his lip. "...we are NOT gonna die." He murmured, looking back up at his brother.
They got better. They caught more wild rabbits...and squirrels and chipmunks! They sharpened sticks and made them into spears. They got to work on building a fire and soon were able to COOK their meals properly. Soon they were enjoying fresh-grilled fish fillet by the fire one night, as the stars twinkled gently overhead.
"Mmmm! This would go great with some salt." Miles admitted.
"Ooh! Well, who do we have here?" Olgilvie commented, looking over Miles's shoulder. They turned to see the two fox cubs were approaching, interested in the smell of the meat drifting through the air.
"Awww, wanna slice?" Miles asked gently, tossing them one of the cooked fish to the very-grateful wild cubs, who began happily tearing it apart.
Days passed. Soon Tikal would arrive to pick them up again. And they had an answer for her. They had realized what magic was.
"I've been thinking about it all this time...but I only have a vague idea about it." Miles told his brother, looking up at the night sky as they lay on a blanket of thick leaves.
"...well...I think I figured it out. Remember back when I ate those ants? I had this...this..."
"Epiphany?"
"Yeah, that's the thing. I thought that "If I don't eat them, I'll die...and then I'll be eaten by the ants, or the foxes, or the birds...or if I died out in the water, by the fishes." Olgilvie told his brother. "I'd go back to the earth and my body would fertilize the ground and technically end up as grass, and the RABBITS would eat that."
"The food chain, you mean? But it can't just be that, right?"
"No, it's more than that. Think about it." Olgilvie said, pointing up at the stars. "Long ago, this entire island might have been at the bottom of the sea. And some day, it could be the peak of a mountain. All things are connected. Everything's a part of this huge thing...the Universe, God, call it what you like. But we're ALL connected to each other in some way. And not just to living beings."
"You're right...we're connected to everything on Earth...and everything beyond..." Miles realized, eyes widening in awe.
...
...
...
... "Well? What's your answer?" Tikal asked, looking the two over as her father stood by the boat. "What is Magic?"
"Magic is what connects us all." Olgilvie said.
"Magic is not just a part of life, it IS Life. The life that all things have." Miles said.
"It's a wellspring of potential that can never truly die out for it's always appearing everywhere you look. Magic is unlimited." The two said at the same time.
Tikal looked them over, and then nodded firmly. "Good answer. One HECK of a good answer. Let's move onto the main training!"
...
...
...
... "The basis of Metallurgy is in rings. Why is that?" Tikal inquired as she walked down a path with Olgilvie and Miles walking along side her.
"Because they're circles. They have neither beginning, nor end, like the power of God itself, who granted Magic to us all." Olgilvie spoke up.
"And there are different kinds of rings to invoke different kinds of powers. Some are dependent on the elements, others are on the raw potential of people's bodies and minds..." Miles went on. "Some directly upon Him, others on "that one"."
"Good! And I want you to keep reviewing until lunch is ready!" Tikal said as they approached her home.
"Wait. Teach, you don't seem to need to make a circle of rings. You can just flick your hand or fingers and perform magic...how can you do that?" Miles inquired.
Tikal's hand stopped, inches from the doorknob. Finally she spoke quietly. "...I suppose you could say...that my body itself...is a circle of rings. You'll know what I'm talking about when your hands reach up and touch the face of God..."
...
...
...
...Sonic's eyes widened as he sat up in the bed he'd been lying in. Tails looked at him, blinking a few times. "What's wrong? You're all pale..."
"...bro, teach's seen Chaos." Sonic whispered.
"So, you've figured it out?" Tikal asked, stepping into the room, arms folded. They turned to gasp at the sight of her. "But you know, I've figured some things out too. The rings on your arms and legs...the SMELL of your brother, Sonic...let me guess...you met with Chaos yourself?" She inquired, frowning darkly.
"...yes." Sonic murmured, rubbing the back of his neck.
"...both of us...we both are...sinners." Tikal mumbled, one hand held over her face as Sonic's eyes widened at the mention of that word. "We went too far..."
"...if you saw it...then..." Sonic nervously spoke up. "...what happened?"
Tikal's body shuddered as she tried to suppress her tears. "...I tried to...I was...there was this man. A stranger who was just blowing into town. I didn't care about him, but...the child growing within me...I wanted to do the responsible thing...I wanted to be a good mother, but it...it never even saw the light of day. That's why I..."
"I understand." Sonic told her quietly, gripping his arm nervously.
"As a result, different parts of my insides were stripped from my body. I should have told you sooner...I could have saved you the pain of..." Tikal murmured.
"No, no, it's alright!" Sonic insisted, waving his hands in the air. "I don't mind, really!"
"Yeah, and I'm looking forward to the food I'm going to be able to eat when I'm normal again!" Tails added, holding up his notepad.
Tikal walked over and hugged them tightly. "...you don't need to put on a brave front." She insisted quietly, sadly. "...not for me."
And with that, they allowed themselves to cry, holding onto their teacher tightly, Sonic letting the tears freely flow as Tails's wailing cries echoed into the night.
"Forgive us, teacher..."
"We're so sorry..."
"We're so sorry..."
