Chapter Thirteen: River the Fox; First Encounter, A Shadow on the Loose
The group appeared at Tails' workshop with grim expressions. Tails, Amy, Jade andAuroraknew that the island sank due to watching the screen, but didn't know about Miki. No one was more made than Aurora except for Mango, who was angry at herself for leaving her close friend behind. However, both Jade and Aurora were happy to see that Mira, Katrina, and Scorch, who was in his emerald, were brought back so there was that. They then turned to each other and were wondering the same thing: How were they going to get Miki back from the ocean?
Tails turn back to the screen and saw something he didn't notice before. "Hey guys, it looks like the last Chaos Emerald is swimming right towards her." He grabbed everyone's attention and the people who were shocked most were the protectors.
"How is that possible?" Sonic asked.
"Lets ask Mira since she said something about it earlier when Miki and I were up in theArctic." Mango offered and turned the lavender and white wolf, making her uneasy. "You said something about River and something about two echidnas, so spill it." This grabbed everyone's curiosity.
"I'm not going to be taking orders from a pathetic mortal like you, kitty cat." Mira said coldly, but when she called Mango 'kitty cat', the she-cat grew enraged at that but also Mira's behavior.
"Do you have any idea what kind of a situation we're in? What if Miki gets captured by Mephiles or Yami because you're not telling us anything important?"
"Because what I know is not important as of right now, so stay out of it."
"I can't stay out of it now because my best is in danger and we can't be able to rescue her because we used up a lot of energy up on that volcano."
"She can rescue herself."
"You're not listening!" Mango shouted at the top of her lungs, hurting Mira's ear drums. "She used up a lot of energy within the past two days and she has used up the last bit of energy on that island. I know this because I have been with her for years and I know when she's weak or in danger. She still is now and I can't do a damn thing about it because you're not cooperating with us."
"It's not my problem to begin with."
Mango then slapped her in the face, shocking the others. "It's not just you're problem, it's everyone's because you're the protector of the Cosmic element and we had to get trapped in this mess. Do you think that we wanted this to happen at this time in our lives? Do you think that after years of suffering we have to face the fact that our love ones may not make it out?" It was at this point that Mango was on the edge of having tears and Mira saw this. "Why can't you just understand that there are people around you that need help? Are you that blind and too proud of yourself to even realize that?"
Before Mira could even think of an answer, before anyone else could think for that matter, Mango took off running outside. Nazo, Jade and Sonic were the only ones that saw the tears that the she-cat was bringing. There was a dead silence as they were shocked. Finally, it was Amy and Tails that ran after her. Uneasiness was in the atmosphere as Mira turned and looked at the remaining members of the group. She then saw the look that Nazo was giving her: Anger and hatred
"That was very well uncalled for, Mira." The hedgehog said after stepping forward. "You should know that we were put in that situation as well when Raze escaped the second time. We all felt what Mango is feeling now for her friend, feeling helpless to protect the ones that we loved so much. You know what it felt like back then."
With that, Nazo ran out of the workshop, but was heading in a different direction than Amy and Tails. The others turned to the screen and saw why.
After making contact with the water, Miki opened her eyes and swam to the surface. She inhaled a big breath of air before having a wave come on top of her, making her go back into underwater. She didn't want to risk swimming after using up all the energy that she had nor did she want to risk staying underwater for a long time so she floated back to the surface. Again, she was brought back underwater, but this time, she stayed under because she didn't have enough strength left to do anything. It was amazing how she was able to stay awake, but she was beginning to fall into slumber.
However, before doing so, she saw a figure swimming towards her. It wasn't a hedgehog figure like before, but it was a fox figure. He wasn't swimming like a normal person, but Miki didn't really care. She sensed Chaos energy coming off of him and she knew that it had to be the protector of the Blue Chaos Emerald. Relief over filled her so she then collapsed into slumber.
After a while, Miki slowly opened her eyes and saw the sun shining through the canopy of the trees. Wait, trees? The hedgehog immediately sat up and looked at her surroundings. She was in a forest, but she also heard loud cars a few miles away. She was in theforestofMystic Ruins, a few miles south ofStation Square, maybe ten at least. She had good long distance hearing she was able to tell.
"You're already awake?" A male voice asked. Miki turned and saw a deep blue fox with sky blue eyes, lighter blue vest, pants and boots leaning against a tree a few feet away. "Give the girl only five minuets and she's already up and about."
"Who are you?" Miki asked, confused a bit.
"My name is River the Fox, protector of the water element and the elder spirit." The fox answered.
"Really? You don't look old at all. You look like you could my dad's age last time I saw him."
"I have that effect on people." River said as he stood straight up. "Your name is Miki, right?" Miki nodded, confused on why the fox asked. "Just as I thought, you do know where the others are right?"
"Yeah, just head south of here and you should find Tails' workshop."
"That won't be necessary." A new voice said. The two turned to the origin of the voice and saw Nazo walk out from behind a few trees. He turned to the old fox. "Looks like you're safe and sound."
"Surprised that I manage to escape, hedgehog?" River asked. Him and Nazo both looked at each other in the eye and Miki sensed tension between the two. She could probably see little lightning shocks going between the two so she decided to back up a few feet. However, she stopped as her ears twitched and she sensed a new kind of energy. This one was a lot colder and darker than Yami's energy and it was really overcoming Miki's energy that she gained back after her very short nap.
The two protectors snapped out of the tension as they sensed the energy and the dark wind started blowing again. However this time, this wind had a bit of shadowy mist in it and the wind whirled around the trio. Suddenly, Miki began hearing a noise in her head and images started to fill it too. After being overwhelmed by the energy, Miki collapsed onto her knees and held her head as she was starting to get pain. Nazo saw this and ran over to her side to make sure that she wasn't in serious pain while River stayed where he was.
Just then, the blue fox saw an in coming attack and jumped out of the way, landing a yard away from Nazo and Miki. The two protectors then turned to where the attack landed, seeing something in the shadows over there. It was hard to tell who it was at first, but what they saw made them feel power-less. Miki looked up and saw what they saw as well. The dust cleared away and the person was as clear as day light.
Standing in the shadows was a dark hedgehog with five quills standing up and four staying down behind his back. He had purple streaks going down from the tip of the five quills and stopped at the top of the head. He wore black clothing that had dark purple symbols and dark purple boots with a white stripe going down the center. His purple eyes stared intently at the trio, but mainly at River and Nazo. "I thought I might find you two here."
"You already had your chance to beat me earlier, Raze." River said as he stood in a defensive position in front of Nazo and Miki.
"I'm not just here to destroy you, old timer. But I'm here to destroy those two as well."
That's him? That's the Raze character they were talking about? Miki asked herself. She felt Nazo's grip on her wrist tightened, signaling her that they needed to get out of this location now. Of course, due to her stubbornness, she wanted to stay and see what kind of powers that Raze has.
Summon me. A voice whispered in Miki's head and it wasn't a friendly one either. Summon me now, Hikari. The name Hikari then struck Miki as if she heard it before.
"Well that's not going to happen any time soon, Raze." Nazo said as he stood by River's side. "As long as the protector of Light is still alive then we still have a chance to seal you back into the Master Emerald."
"Is that right, Reko?" Raze asked, obviously taunting the cyan hedgehog.
Why did he just call Nazo Reko? Is there something else that's going on that the others don't know about? Miki was more confused now. But then again, who wouldn't be other than the other protectors.
Just then, Raze started to glow in a freakish black aura and the trio didn't like it. He then started to for a sword out of that aura, the blade being as black as the darkest shadow in the night and the handle being dark purple, and looked ready to strike. River, having more energy than Nazo and Miki combined, formed a solid water like sword as well and was ready to strike. After a few heartbeats, the two moved so fast that Miki couldn't keep track of until the two collided. "Get out of here, both of you, now!" River shouted to them as he pushed Raze back.
Nazo grabbed Miki by the wrist and the two ran from the battle field. Miki looked over her shoulder and saw Sora following them. Nazo saw a glimpse of the fox and ran faster, almost dragging Miki across the forest floor. They than had to stop because Sora managed to get in front of them and he was ready to attack. "You're not getting away that easily." Sora said as he pulled out his sharp dagger.
Nazo and Miki backed up a step but an energy sphere came out of no where and nearly hit them, missing them by a few feet. Miki freaked out about it and got closer to Nazo. The two turned and saw Mephiles charging at them, now in his third form and claw stretched out. Miki jumped out of the way and into the branches, expecting Nazo to follow her but the other hedgehog stayed where he was and stopped the claw. He then gave Miki a look and she knew what it meant: Get out of here now while you still can.
Miki nodded and started jumping from one branch to the tenth branch away. She was doing good so far until she missed and landed hard on the ground, hurting her legs and lower back. She dusted herself off and then got kicked in the back, sending her a few feet away and landed on her stomach. She got up onto her knees but as she did, a claw grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up into the air. Miki looked down and saw Yami using her left hand(?) instead of her right. She tried to get out of the grasp of her arch rival, but after using up all of her energy on the island, she barely had enough energy to even lift her arms now.
"If you think that you could be able to dodge this one, then you might want to think again." Yami said as she tightened the claw, not letting any air come in or out. Miki struggled for breath, but she felt that her neck was going to break any moment. She closed her eyes, hoping that the spirits would contact her friends in some way and that they would come and save her.
She felt Yami's claw let go and the white hedgehog dropped to the ground. She coughed as she inhaled a lot of air at once, but she was now fine. She looked up and saw Mango in a defensive position between her and Yami. The said wolf was in a crouch and was beyond not pleased to see the orange she-cat, almost to the point of unleashing her rage. "You lay another hand on Miki and you answer to me, got that?" Mango asked, clearly challenging the wolf.
"You little pest, I'll be sure that you won't live to see your friend's death." Yami said back as her left claw was glowing in a dark aura. She then charged at Mango, claw stretched out.
Mango blocked the claw using her upper arm and countered with a punch in the gut. However, she failed to notice the right hand that was coming at her. Mango was then tossed a few feet away to the left and slammed hard into the tree. She was forced to turn into her house cat form, but she was low on energy as well. Miki ran over to her side and made sure that Mango was okay, but the orange cat had its eyes closed. "Mango, get up." Miki said as she shook the cat a little, trying to get her awake.
Summon me now. The voice said in her head, this time, more darkly and louder.
"Your little friend has lost her energy on that island like you." Yami said as she walked over. "It's no use trying to get her up and going again."
"Shut up!" Miki shouted as she stood up. Yami noticed something different about Miki, but was also familiar. Miki's blue eyes had turned to that deadly red shade again. Miki's shadow was also doing something that was very unusual for a shadow to do. "I have enough of you and your taunts! You don't have any idea how it feels like to be put in a situation that involves your friends, you just don't understand!" Miki's shadow just then surrounded her as her fur turned from white to pure black. The shadow then formed a cage like ball around Miki and let out a burst of energy.
What ever was in a one hundred meter distance from Miki was caught in the energy burst and was either destroyed or sent flying. Mango was sent fly when the burst happened, the trees turned to tooth picks, but Yami was able to with stand the burst. The wolf looked at Miki and saw that she was holding her head for a reason. "I won't...let you take over me." She breathed out.
Yami then realized what it was, but she was hesitating on what to do. She then jumped in front of Miki and touched the hedgehog on the forehead with her claw. Miki returned to her original form and all of that blackness and shadow went directly to Yami's claw, forming a sphere. Yami backed up as the sphere disappeared and watched Miki collapsed to the ground unconscious. The wolf was ready to attack, but she was being held back by something. She then disappeared into black mist as she sensed a energy coming.
After Miki disappeared into the forest canopy, Nazo pushed Mephiles back. The cyan hedgehog then heard Sora coming up from behind so he flipped backwards and kicked the fox on the back, making him go flying into the demon hedgehog. The two brought themselves back onto their feet, but realized that Nazo was just standing there, not doing anything but staring off in the direction that Miki went. His ears twitched as he sensed something not right. He then changed to his wolf form and ran to a nearby ledge. Mephiles and Sora were deeply confused, but they were about to find out what Nazo was hiding from.
Only after a minuet, a very powerful gust came from Miki's direction and not only destroyed the trees, but also sent Mephiles and Sora into the air as they were being carried by the wind and debris. Nazo wasn't really affected from where he was thanks to being down on a ledge. The gust moved on and Nazo saw something shining in the sky heading east. He realized that it was the Blue Chaos Emerald, but he still felt River's physical form on ground level a few yards away. He knew that the old timer knew what he was doing, so Nazo went to check on Miki.
The trees were turned to rubble if they were caught in the gust so it was a little hard to walk on. But Nazo was not walking nor jogging. He was running. Something was telling him that he needed to get to Miki's side now. However, with this much debris, it was hard to see the ground and it was very easy to loose his footing. He then felt something and he had to run faster.
It wasn't long before Miki was in sight, but she was lying on the ground. Nazo then turned back to his form when he was only a few feet away. He then walked up to her and saw what a normal person wouldn't see: Miki had no shadow. Nazo grew concerned for the hedgehog, but knew that she needed lots of rest before anything else could be done. That pretty much goes for everyone that was to point of having no energy. He turned her over, placed his left arm underneath Miki's shoulders and lifted her up slightly. He then placed his right arm underneath her knees and lifted her off the ground. Nazo had no trouble carrying Miki in his arms since she was extremely light, but this felt awkward since they haven't introduced themselves properly. They eventually will and he knew that much.
He started walking, but he was being careful because Raze could still be nearby. Miki was breathing, but slightly so Nazo quickened the pace. After a few minuets of walking, he saw that a pile of debris moved a little. Then out popped Mango, badly hurt and bleeding. Nazo gently set Miki down and ran over to Mango. "Are you alright?"
"A…little, but I think I can walk." Mango said as she tried to stand up, but she collapsed to her knees. She then changed to her house cat and tried to stand on her paws, but the results were the same.
"Looks like I have to carry the both of you." Nazo said as he lifted Mango up with one arm and walked back to Miki's side. He then put Mango on top of Miki's stomach and lifted them into his arms.
You're enjoying this aren't you? Mango mewed.
"Don't get your hopes up." Nazo said before speed walking to Mystic Ruins using a different way. Raze was more than likely still out and about so Nazo kept his guard up a lot more than usual. He then looked up at the sky and saw the sun beginning to set, turning the sky orange. Nightfall was fast approaching and Nazo knew that he needed to get to Mystic Ruins quickly before the moon would show up.