Sorry for the delayed chapter; it was hard getting my writing energy back after NaNoWriMo…between the post NaNo blues and the holidays…ugh. I hope this chapter came out all right; I feel out of the loop…let me know if I missed anything and/or if there are any typos or things…thanks…
I do not own the Sonic the Hedgehog series, but the Chikara Emeralds, Velo the Hedgehog, Daisy the Hedgehog, Sora Prower, Jihi Prower, Raspberry the Chao, and Mint the Chao belong to me, MikomiTheKitsune, and cannot be used without my permission. Lunar Eclisp belongs to An Angel Flying with broken wings and is used with her permission.
The Future Of Mobius
By MikomiTheKitsune
Chapter 12-- Mission: FAILURE -Sora
Hi, I'm Sora Prower, but I'm just called Sora. All of this is happening too quickly…first, a robot comes that turns out to be Eggman's, next our parents get kidnapped along with Velo, and just…it's too fast. Sonic fast…what happened to…?
"Sora, hey…Mobius to Sora. You there?" Daisy said, bringing Sora back to reality.
Sora shook her head, flustered. "Y-yeah. Sorry." She sighed. "I just…can't believe all of this happened…"
Daisy patted Sora on the back. "It's not your fault any of this happened, y'know."
Sora sighed again, staring at her battle-damaged plane. "Yeah, I know…" But it sure feels like it…
[Flashback
"Velo…"
No sooner after they had landed, strength had failed Daisy and she fell to her knees, repeating her little brother's name over and over.
Sora frowned helplessly as the robot flew away with their parents and Velo, shrinking into a dot in the distance. She hung her head in shame. "Daisy, I'm…"
"I-it's alright, Daisy," Jihi said, unintentionally interrupting her sister as he walked over to Daisy, trying to offer words of comfort. "Y-you, um…you told me, remember Daisy? You said we'll save Mama…an', we're gonna save everyone else too! Ok, Daisy…?"
Daisy sighed and got up, nodding slowly. "Yeah…you're right. Thanks, Jihi…"
Jihi smiled. "You're welcome, Daisy!"
Mint and Raspberry cooed in unison. "Chao!"
Sora couldn't help but chuckle. I swear, Jihi can be chipper in almost any situation…
An older foreign voice interrupted her thoughts. "Well, that was interesting."
Everyone turned to face the girl that had just spoken. She looked like an ordinary human girl at first glance, but on closer inspection, Sora noticed that she had silvery-white fox ears poking out of her long brown hair in place of human ears, and had a matching tail poking out of her pants. She wore a green T-shirt and jeans along with some bright tennis shoes, and she had a turquoise headband on. A large bow and quiver rested on her back and a sheathed sword was hung on her hip. Sora had never seen anyone quite like this girl before, and she was pretty sure that Jihi and Daisy hadn't either.
The human-fox girl spoke up again. "…What? What're you looking at?"
It was Jihi who responded shyly. "Uh…um, miss?"
"Yes?"
Jihi's curiosity got the better of him as he pointed out the object of interest. "Uhm, are those…real?" Jihi asked, pointing to her fox ears.
One of the teen's ears simply twitched while she replied, "Are yours?"
Jihi, taking it literally, felt over his long drooping ears and responded, "Well, they were the last time I checked…lemme see--"
Daisy and the newcomer stared at Jihi blankly. Sora slapped her forehead. Jihi… Sora walked over to her embarrassing little brother and stopped him from doing any more. "Jihi, they're real. That's not what she meant…"
"But she asked me if--"
"Jihi, I'll explain later." Sora turned to the human-fox girl and bowed apologetically. "I'm really sorry, miss…my little brother, Jihi, is only 6 years old, and he can be quite gullible sometimes…"
The girl waved it off. "I've gotten that a lot since I came to this time. And please drop the 'miss'. My name's Lunar Eclisp."
"Nice to meet you," Daisy said, finally feeling her old self returning. "My name's Daisy."
"And I'm Sora." Sora crossed her arms. "Uh, Lunar…what did you mean 'since you came to this time'…?"
"Well, I don't come from the same time you guys do…" Lunar Eclisp stretched her arms above her head. "Oh yeah, for future reference, my whole first name is 'Lunar Eclisp'."
"Ah, sorry." Sora shook her head. "But, what 'time' do you mean…?"
Jihi cut in unintentionally before Lunar Eclisp could respond. "Do you mean, you come from the future or something?"
Lunar Eclisp smiled at the little two-tailed bunny. "That's right. I come from what you could call…a potential future. At least, that's what I hope, anyway…"
"Ah-ha!" Jihi cheered. "I toldja, Sora! Time-travel is possible." Jihi put his hands on his hips and puffed up his chest in what seemed like an acquired victory. Sora rolled her eyes and said nothing.
Lunar Eclisp frowned. "That's not the way I look at it…it shouldn't even be utilized in the first place, in my opinion."
Jihi returned the frown. "W-why? Time travel is cool an' stuff…"
"No, it's not. It's the reason why everything's messed up now. Well, er, it'll be messed up later…look--"
"If you're from the future, why are you here now?" Daisy asked, an uneasy feeling settling over her.
Sora shared Daisy's feelings. "Something…bad happened in the future, didn't it? And you're here to prevent it?"
Lunar Eclisp sighed. "Yup, that's basically the gist of it. A man named Dr. Eggman -- well, it looks like you're somewhat acquainted already -- made this crazy creature with some kind of death ray and sent it around to terrorize all different dimensions and times…"
Sora crossed her arms. "But how could Eggman do that? Send this creature around like that…?"
"The Time Stones, maybe?" Daisy guessed.
Lunar Eclisp nodded. "Yeah. Along with the Rings of Order, he can do whatever he wants…but how do you know about the Time Stones…?"
"W-well, he tried it once before…when my mom and dad met," Daisy said, flustered.
Lunar Eclisp's eyes widened. "Wait…your parents aren't…"
Sora's sick feeling got worse. She hesitated. "…My parents are Miles and Cream Prower, and hers are Sonic and Amy the Hedgehog…"
Lunar Eclisp slapped her forehead. "WHAT? …You don't possibly mean…that the people being kidnapped just now were…!"
Daisy frowned. "…Them, yes. We were caught off-guard, and they were taken, along with my little brother…"
Lunar Eclisp cursed under her breath. "Damn. Then I'm too late…he must have the Stones and the Rings already."
Jihi's ears drooped. "T-then…does that mean that--"
"No it doesn't." Sora put a reassuring hand on her little brother's shoulder. "The fact that Lunar Eclisp is here right now means that things can be changed."
Lunar Eclisp attempted a smile. "I hope you're right, Sora."
"Just tell us what we can do!" Daisy snapped unexpectedly. She caught herself. "…S-sorry…I just want to help my brother…and everyone else…"
Lunar Eclisp chuckled. "Well, maybe this will still work with you guys…any of you good with mechanics?"
Jihi raised his hand. "My big sister is the best with that stuff! Better than me, anyway."
Sora blushed and scratched the back of her head embarrassedly. "A-ah, w-well…I'm not that great, but--"
"Do you have a Chaos Emerald analysis machine? And maybe a radar?" Lunar Eclisp asked hurriedly.
Sora's ears pricked up. "Huh? W-well, not me…but I know how to work my dad's."
"Good. Could you take a look at this Emerald for me, then?" Lunar Eclisp tossed a glowing white Emerald to Sora. Sora caught it clumsily and stared at it in awe.
Daisy came over to Jihi and Sora to look at the Emerald. "Whoa, is that a real Chaos Emerald?"
"I don't know."
The trio looked up at Lunar Eclisp in confusion. "You don't know?" Daisy echoed.
Lunar Eclisp crossed her arms. "Nope. It's kinda hard to explain, but…it just feels different from a typical Chaos Emerald. Of course, that could just me, but…"
The rest of Lunar Eclisp's words were blanked out of Sora's mind as she continued to stare into the Emerald. The power felt unreal, and Sora could've sworn she felt herself being pulled into it…
…Until a jolt of energy blasted her off the ground, startling everyone around her. "Sora!"
Sora blinked and caught her balance by twirling her tails. She gazed down at everyone dumbly. What…happened…? A guess came to mind. Was that the Emerald…?
"Sora!" Jihi and Mint cried out again.
"Are you okay?!" Daisy called.
Sora flew back down to them and nodded in a stupor. "Yeah…"
Lunar Eclisp's fox ears drooped down. "See what I mean…?"
"I'll check it out," Sora said as she headed into her house.
Okay…so the password's ADE7 AA2A 51A6 6D12…
Click.
Sora yawned as the door to her father's lab opened automatically for her. Why am I so tired…?
She noticed the time on his bright neon-lighted digital clock, answering her absent-minded question. Ah, it's just late at night…a lot has happened, huh…
The next thing she knew, she was in front of one of her father's worktables, staring at it as if it were a foreign object. Sora narrowed her eyes, annoyed at her drowsiness, and slapped her face a few times. Stay awake, Sora! They're waiting for you!
After rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes, Sora noticed a golden jewel pendant on the worktable in front of her. Is this…?
"Sora, listen…in my lab, there's a golden jewel necklace that I wanted to give to you on your 13th birthday…"
Sora put it on without a second thought. Dad, Mum, everyone…I'm gonna make you all proud!
Everyone stood around the entrance of the Prower's house, awaiting Sora's report on the Emerald. They didn't expect it to take this long, or for Sora's face to be plastered with shock when she finally did come out.
"Sora, are you alright?" Jihi asked worriedly when his sister came out. He only got a gasp in reply, Sora still trying to catch her breath.
Lunar Eclisp rolled her eyes. "Took you long enough."
"So, what'd you find out?" Daisy asked.
Sora straightened herself up. "You're not gonna believe this…this thing isn't a normal Chaos Emerald," Sora said, holding the white Emerald in her hand.
"Um…what do you mean?" Jihi asked.
"According to the analysis, this Emerald has the power of all seven Super Emeralds!" Sora said. "That's forty-nine Chaos Emeralds!"
Lunar Eclisp gasped. "What? You mean--"
"Wait a sec…" Jihi unintentionally interrupted again, "Um…how'd you figure that out, Sora? And what do you mean 'forty-nine Chaos Emeralds'…?" Daisy nodded, wondering the same thing.
"It's simple math." Sora began to ramble on, "You see, each Super Emerald has the same power of seven Chaos Emeralds, so seven Super Emeralds would have the power equivalent of forty-nine Chaos Emeralds. But this has the power of seven Super Emeralds…and assuming there are seven of these, that'd be, like…the equivalent of three hundred and forty-three Chaos Emeralds!"
"Whoa!" Jihi nodded in comprehension. "Wow…I get it now. Thanks!"
Daisy, however, felt like she was growing dumber by the second. "My…head…"
Sora cocked her head in confusion. "Daisy? You okay?"
Daisy resisted the urge to go mope in a random corner of the hill. "Math…worst subject in school…hate school…"
Sora frowned. "But that was simple multiplication…"
"Anyway," Lunar Eclisp interjected before the conversation became any more ridiculous, "We now know that these kind of Emeralds could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. And with that kind of power…it's no wonder none of the resistance forces in my time can fight back."
"Mm-hmm." Sora nodded. "But anyway, now that we have that one Emerald, we can fight back against those robot--"
"Two."
Sora paused. "Excuse me?"
"We have two." Lunar Eclisp pulled out a light blue Emerald from her pocket. "I found both of these Emeralds flying through the sky when I came here."
Probably coming from Angel Island, Sora guessed. "So now we can get to those robots and save everyone!"
"That's great and all…" Daisy sighed, "But how are we gonna do that? I don't think you and Jihi could fly for that long, and I doubt Lunar Eclisp has any kind of 'telekinesis' power to help us…" Daisy gestured to Lunar Eclisp, who shook her head. "Well, Sora?"
Sora got a devilish grin on her face, which made Jihi giggle in excitement. "Behold!"
Sora pulled out a remote control from her vest pocket and pressed the large red button in the center. The ground shook as the palm trees around the cliff started to bend down, machinery whirring through the process. Finally, the Prower hangar door opened and an aqua-purple bi-plane came wheeling out to them. Sora continued to glow with pride as her audience looked in awe. "My plane, the Gale!"
Jihi couldn't contain his excitement and immediately started to examine his big sister's work. "WOW! Sora, you finished your plane already?!!"
Sora shrugged. "Why do you think I took so long earlier? I figured we needed some transportation, and dad had the rest of the blueprints all written up, so…"
"There's a problem."
Sora's ego took a plunge at those words. "W-what?"
Lunar Eclisp poked a thumb at the Gale. "It's only a two-seater, and there's four of us…"
"So?" Sora shrugged. "Sonic would always ride on the wing of my dad's pl…"
Her voice trailed off as the three of them made an X with their hands. Sora pouted and put her hands on her hips. "Well, how else are we gonna go? It's not like we have two planes to--"
"Um…"
Sora's attention turned to Jihi, who was shifting his feet shyly. "…What is it, Jihi?"
"I, um, I, uh…maybe we could, um, use mine too?" Jihi asked.
"What? What are you--"
Before Sora could finish, another bi-plane was wheeled out next to the Gale. It had a green-brown paint job, and looked almost identical to her bi-plane, save for the lack of the laser gun installation and the different logo on the tail of the plane. Everyone's jaw dropped. "Jihi, when'd you…!"
Jihi fumbled his fingers shyly. "I-I made it myself, based on your plane, Sora. I didn't wanna say anything yet…I-I mean, I haven't installed any weapons yet, but, um, we could still use my Breeze for transportation, right?"
Sora smiled at her little brother's plane with delight. "Jihi, you little genius."
Jihi giggled as Sora rubbed him playfully on the head. "That settles that. So, who's going where?" Daisy asked.
Sora shrugged. "Well, I have to pilot the Gale, and Jihi has to pilot the Breeze…"
"Ooh! Ooh!" Jihi waved his hands in the air. "Can Miss Lunec ride with me? Please?"
"'Lunec'?" the three girls asked in unison. A thought occurred in Lunar Eclisp's mind. "Wait a minute…do you mean--"
"Please, Miss Lunec?" Jihi pleaded.
Sora whispered in Lunar Eclisp's ear, "Lunar Eclisp, would you mind putting up with him? He is a 6-year old, and…"
"Oh, alright…" Lunar Eclisp sighed.
"Yay!" Jihi bowed. "Thank you, Miss Lunec."
"Chao!" Mint and Raspberry cheered.
Lunar Eclisp let her head drop in embarrassment. "Drop the 'miss', Jihi, please…and my name's not…"
Within a few minutes, the group had taken off in their bi-planes and began their pursuit of the robot ships. Lunar Eclisp was covering her ears as Jihi continued to bombard her with questions about the future's technology, and if she could teach him how to wield a sword and bow like her. Sora chuckled silently and stared down at the light blue 'Mystery' Emerald that was installed in the Gale, serving as the power source of the plane
Just what kind of Emeralds are these? Sora wondered. Lunar Eclisp said that she found them when she came here…and if they did come from Angel Island…I wonder…
"Sora! I see it!" Daisy called from the seat behind her.
Sora whipped her head up to see. Sure enough, the ship was coming into sight. Sora felt excitement well up in her chest. We're going to do it! We're going--
A high-pitched scream broke her train of thought, filling her gut with fear. "Jihi?!"
The Breeze had been engulfed in white sparks of electrical energy, forcing Lunar Eclisp out of her seat as it started to implode and burst into flame. "What happened?!" Daisy yelled.
"Something--the Emerald--" Lunar Eclisp was cut off as she struggled to keep her grip on one of the failing plane's wings.
"T-t-the Emerald's rejecting the Breeze!" Jihi squeaked out in fear. "T-the power's too much for it! I-it's destroying the plane!"
Both passengers cried out as the Breeze sunk lower and spun out of Jihi's control. "JIHI! LUNAR ECLISP!" Sora cried at the top of her lungs.
"Sora! Incoming!"
Sora had just enough reaction time to spin the Gale out of the laser fire from the opposing ship. Great…we've been spotted! Sora's fear-stricken mind instinctively told her to fire her laser guns like crazy and hope to damage the ship somewhat…which is exactly what she did, to no avail.
"Sora!" Daisy took off her seatbelt and leaned over to the terrified little fox girl. "Calm down!"
Sora was caught up in her fear, her little brother's face fixed in her mind. "B-but…Jihi and Lunar Eclisp…"
"They'll be okay," Daisy tried to reassure her.
It didn't work. "A-and Velo…"
BOOM.
Sora and Daisy both looked up at the explosion. Sora had accidentally blown open a hole in the enemy's ship. She let go of the triggers of the weapon system and exhaled. Both of the girls thought they saw a glimpse of red. "Velo?!"
Daisy's eyes widened. "Velo…!"
"Ow!" Sora yelped, shaking her aching hand. What was--
A high-pitched alarm blared from her plane's screen as familiar light blue sparks started to dance on the Gale's control panel. No, no, no…!
"What's going on, Sora?!" Daisy screeched as she almost slid out of her seat, cursing herself for undoing her seatbelt earlier.
Sora trembled as she felt the Gale slipping out of her control. She forced the words out of her throat, "T-the Emerald's energy is rebounding on the Gale…"
Daisy was only able to manage a quick "What?" before the plane started to careen out of control. Sora could've sworn she saw Velo fly out of the ship before everything started to turn into a fast flurry of colors…
"Sora? Hey! Sora!"
Sora blinked. "Huh?"
"Focus!" Daisy snapped. "Stop spacing out on me."
"Sorry." Sora scratched behind her ear. "So…do you have any idea where we are, exactly?"
Daisy dusted off her jeans and took another glance at their surroundings. "Well, it seems to be some kind of airship…I think."
Sora jumped in the Gale and pulled out the glowing aqua Emerald, putting it in her vest pocket. "An airship in the middle of the ocean?" Sora said, taking another glance around as she flew out of the Gale's pilot seat. It was well constructed; whoever made it knew what they were doing, Sora thought. But the logos on the cannons that decorated the bridge seemed familiar… "Who'd let a great big battleship like this go to waste?" Sora asked, suppressing the urge to take the whole ship apart to see how it ran.
Daisy shrugged. "I dunno. I remember mom saying how she took a boat to a battleship kinda like this when she was helping a little bird find its family…but I think it was one of…Eggman's ships…" She slowed down as soon as she realized what she was saying.
"A-ah, um…well, Eggman's been missing for two decades now, right?" Sora said. "Well…maybe he's not using it right now, like back then. Wanna go inside and see if anyone's running it?"
Despite not receiving an answer, Sora flew up ahead to the door that led into the interior of the ship. Daisy sighed and mumbled to herself, "You'll do it even if I say no, huh…"
"What was that?" Sora asked, trying to figure out how to open the door of the ship.
Daisy sighed again, walking over to the two-tailed fox girl. "Well, we have nothing better to do, right?"
With that, Daisy pulled out her Hana Hammer and smashed down the door without another thought. Sora stared with her jaw down on the ground. "Whoa…how do you do that?!"
Daisy raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"
"How you pulled that hammer out of nowhere--" Sora imitated Daisy's previous motion, "Like that?"
Daisy chuckled, "Sorry, family secret."
"Aw man! C'mon! Please, Daisy? I won't tell--"
"Nope."
"Rrrgh!"
Sora was starting to question what was going through the creator's mind when he built the ship more and more as the exploration continued. They had already run into the largest and deepest swimming pool that she had ever seen, and there were a lot of rooms that seemed completely pointless. "I mean, how many stuffed Sonic doll target practice rooms does a guy need?" Sora ranted on, "Not to mention that Hedgehog Hammer room, which…Daisy? You alright?"
Daisy shuddered as they walked out of the room. "I'm still wondering why my mom's name was top on the high score list…"
Sora shrugged. "For all we know, this is that same ship…what's it called? The 'Egg Carrier'? From one of our parents' adventures. Maybe your mom…"
Daisy wagged a finger. "No, that can't be. It was destroyed by Perfect Chaos, remember?"
"What? Ah, shoot. Then I don't have a clue." Sora's ears drooped. "Aghh! This place is so big and confusing! I don't know whether to be admiring it or hating it! Where is the logic in any of these stupid rooms?!"
Daisy offered the most logical answer. "Well, this is Eggman we're talking about."
Sora relaxed and nodded. "True…"
"EXCUSE ME."
Sora and Daisy tensed up and turned around slowly. There behind them stood a robot modeled after a stereotypical 'maid' figure, elderly woman robotic voice and vacuum cleaner included. "I MUST CONTINUE MY CLEANING. IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND AS TO…"
The robot stared down at the two shocked girls with interest. "OH, HELLO DEARIES! YOU MUST BE HERE TO VISIT MY MASTER, DOCTOR IVO ROBOTNIK! AM I RIGHT?"
Daisy shot Sora a look of panic. What do we do?! it read. Sora gave her a worried glance back, then chose her response carefully. "Um…yes?"
The robot maid seemed thrilled. "OH GOOD! IT'S RARE TO HAVE VISITORS HERE. SHALL I GET YOU ANYTHING SPECIAL, DEARIES? TEA? BISCUITS? KNOCK-OUT GAS?"
The two girls didn't know how to respond at first, until the phrase registered in their minds. "…Knock-out gas?!"
"WELL, IF YOU REALLY INSIST THEN, DEARS. I PERSONALLY DON'T CARE FOR IT MYSELF, BUT…" Before the girls could figure out what had happened, a sickly-sweet scented gas poured out of the maid's vacuum cleaner, knocking them out instantly.
The robot stared for a minute. "AH, YOU SEE? I DON'T LIKE IT ALL THAT MUCH EITHER. GLAD WE HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON, EH? NOW, LET ME ESCORT YOU TO MY MASTER…"
Credit to An Angel Flying with broken wings for the section where Jihi asks if her fox ears are real, to which she replies while one of her ears twitches, "Are yours?" LOL I loved that part. I hope you liked the chapter, and I'm extremely sorry that it was so late.
Well, I finally got another chapter up. Faster than the last one :) Hopefully I can keep this writing streak going…I really want to finish this story! Oh yeah, I made a personality test for TFoM for the heck of it…I'll put the link on my profile if anyone's interested. No pics yet, but hey. -shrugs- Thanks to all of you who are keeping up with this story despite my late updates! I will not discontinue this story! Borrowing Sonic's line, No Way! --MTK
