Chapter 14. Reunited Again.
Across a vast desert, Sonic, Amy, Ratchet, Clank, Andy and Socrates wandered. Walking towards their destination.
"Are we there yet?" Andy asked, clearly exhausted.
"Not yet." Ratchet said. "We still have about a few miles to go."
"Well while you're worrying about how much farther this is going to be. I'm worrying about what happened to the others." Socrates said.
"Look, they can probably handle themselves." Sonic said. "We shouldn't worry about them."
"Sorry Sonic, but Socrates has a point." Andy replied. "They should have teleported to us by now. Calvin has the MTM and could teleport to us anytime he wants."
"Well it could be because the MTM doesn't have enough power." Clank replied.
"Maybe." Amy said. "We should probably wait until we're at the dig site before we decide whether their dead or not."
The group continued in silence. After awhile they saw what we're clearly excavation tools in the distance.
"Okay we're near the dig site." Amy said. "And I don't see Calvin, Hobbes or anyone else around here."
"Maybe we should start considering the worst." Sonic said reluctantly. He didn't want to admit it but he had to start thinking of the possibility that maybe Tails and the others didn't make it.
"Oh, I really don't like doing that." Ratchet said shaking his head.
"Me either." Clank said.
"Hate to admit it." Andy said with a solemn expression on his face. "But maybe they died back in Sonic's universe."
"And it's not like they're just going to pop up from out of nowhere, all fine and dandy." Socrates said.
Everyone looked at him in silence.
"What? Usually when someone says that, something like that happens."
Just then a sphere of electricity began to form near them.
Everyone turned and saw it as it began to grow.
Just then the sphere let out a bright flash, causing them to shield their eyes.
When it was gone, they looked and their eyes widened.
Standing there was Calvin, Hobbes, Sherman, Jak, Daxter, Tails and three others they didn't recognize.
The group that teleported in then noticed the others.
"Sonic?" Tails asked.
"Calvin, Hobbes, Sherman?" Andy asked, looking at them closely. "Is that you?"
Each group stared at the other for a moment. Not knowing what to do or say.
They then rushed towards each other.
Andy grabbed Sherman. "Sherman, I was getting worried that something might have happened to you."
"Ah you were worrying too much." Sherman said. "I took care of myself just fine."
Meanwhile Tails was with Sonic, happy to see him safe.
"Tails, what took you and the others so long to get here?" Sonic asked.
"It's a long story." Tails said. "And one i'll tell you later."
Socrates was hugging Calvin and Hobbes tightly.
"Cally, Hobbo!" Socrates said with joy. "I never thought I would see you again."
"Socrates, I already saw one person nearly get crushed by a hug. I don't need to experience it myself." Calvin said as trying to breathe.
"I agree with Calvin." Hobbes said also struggling to breathe. "Loosen up the grip Socrates."
Jak and Daxter were with Ratchet and Clank, talking about what happened to them.
"So you landed in an unknown universe, went back in time to save someone's friend and took down a crime lord in the past." Clank said, summarizing the adventure.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Daxter said.
"Speaking of which." Ratchet said pointing to the raccoon, turtle, and hippo. "Who are these three."
"Oh." Calvin said as he got away from Socrates, remembering they haven't introduced their new friends to the others. "Well these three are Sly, Bentley and Murray."
Sonic approached Sly and offered his hand.
Sly looked at it for a moment. Then he grabbed it and the two shook hands.
"Well, we're all back together again." Daxter said. "How about you explain what happened while we we're gone and we'll tell you what happened to us."
In another universe, Tenebris stood, watching the ruins of the city below. Since the takeover black tendrils had wrapped themselves around the buildings that we're still standing. With the tallest having a giant lump glowing white.
Just then he heard footsteps, he turned and saw the black hooded figure approaching him.
"My master." he said bowing down to him. "I have an update on the heroes trying to stop you."
"What is it?" Tenebris asked.
"One group has managed to find a third precursor star, and have teleported to where the rest of them are. They also brought a few others with them as well."
"What do they look like?"
"Well one's a racoon, another is a turtle in a wheelchair and another's a pink hippo."
Tenebris's eyes narrowed. "I see."
"What do you want me to do master? The heroes are in Ratchet's universe, which we control."
Tenebris looked back in silence.
Finally, he spoke. "Do nothing. Where they are going has an army of my forces inside. They most likely won't survive."
"What happens if they do survive?"
"Oh, I have a backup in case that happens. Now leave."
The hooded figure nodded and ran off.'
Tenebris looked back at the city.
He knew the heroes were going to survive. They managed to escape him at every turn. But he knew eventually, they'll have to confront him. And when that time comes, he'll know how to lure them there.
Meanwhile, back in Ratchet's universe, The heroes had finished telling their stories to each other.
"Well it certainly sounds like you had more of an adventure then we had." Andy said after hearing Calvin's group's story.
"Compared to us, with the most exciting part being when we were nearly cornered by umbra." Socrates added.
"Well we have three of the five precursor stars now." Jak said. "I'll take it the reason you're all the way out here is because there's one nearby."
Sonic nodded. "We think it's here, but we're not exactly sure. This could be a random dig site for all we know."
"There's definitely a precursor star here." The MTM replied. "I managed to detect its signature."
"At least all that walking was worth it." Ratchet said.
"Now let's get that star." Calvin said.
With that, the newly reunited group ran towards the dig site.
When they arrived, they found that it was mostly abandoned. Made sense as most of the crew had probably gone back to camp before they got attacked.
However, Jak found a few people there, presumably staying to guard the area. He found their faces were contorted in the same way the librarian was back in his universe.
Hobbes walked up to Jak and saw the guard's face.
"Just like the librarian." Hobbes said.
Jak nodded. "You know, a thought occurred to me."
"What is it?"
"Why do some of the people we encounter look like this? I know it's probably because of the umbra, but why do they do this?"
Hobbes shrugged. "It's probably one of those things we'll never figure out."
"Hobbes, Jak." Sonic cried out. "Are you coming?"
Jak and Hobbes turned and saw the group going inside what looked like a mineshaft.
"We'll be there in a moment." Hobbes cried out.
Moving away from the body, Jak and Hobbes went to rejoin the others.
Inside, Calvin was leading the way with a flashlight. They had been walking for about 5 minutes before they came to an open area.
In front of them there were three hallways.
"So, Which one do we go through?" Sly asked.
"Well, maybe the middle one." Sonic said pointing to the one at the center.
"No, that's too 's probably the right one." Ratchet said pointing to the one on the right.
"That could lead to a dead end." Daxter said before pointing to the left one. "It's definitely the left."
"I think there's an easier way to find out." Sherman suggested. "Maybe we can go in groups of five."
The entire group stood in silence for a moment.
Then Clank spoke. "I guess that would be a good idea."
"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Daxter cried out. "We just reunited and now you want us to split us up again?"
"Relax Daxter." Hobbes said. "We're in the same universe this time, and if your path does lead to a dead end you can always walk back to here."
Daxter stared at him for a moment before he sighed. "Alright, we'll go with the 3 group plan."
And so they went. With Sly, Bentley, Murray, Ratchet and Clank going to the right, Andy Sherman Socrates, Jak and Daxter going to the middle, and finally, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Calvin and Hobbes going to the left.
In the left tunnel, Calvin was leading the way using his flashlight, again. With Sonic, Tails, Amy and Hobbes following him
"Calvin, this might be an obvious question. But why did you decide to bring those three with you when you teleported back to us?" Amy asked as they walked.
"Well it was a choice of leaving them to die in their universe, or taking them with me." Calvin replied. "It wasn't a hard one for me to make."
"You know, I think you made the right choice." Sonic said. "We probably need all the help we could get right now."
"Why?" Amy asked. "We've managed without them so far."
"I don't know. I just have a feeling we might need them."
Just then there was a squishing sound, and everyone stopped where they we're.
"Did someone step on something?" Calvin asked.
"Yeah I did." Sonic said.
"What is it?" Tails asked.
Calvin turned the flashlight towards Sonic, who had lifted his foot away from a black ooze like substance, some of which was dangling from his shoe.
"That looks like that same ooze the umbra make when they die." Hobbes said.
Everyone froze when Hobbes said that and another glob of ooze dropped not far from where they were.
Calvin, very slowly, lifted his flashlight towards the ceiling. The others slowly moving their heads in that direction as well.
On the ceiling, there were hundreds of umbra, hanging upside down and growling softly.
The group quickly took a look at their surroundings in increasing horror.
They we're in a cave, covered in a black substance that covered the area in web like patterns. There were even some areas with black tendras sticking out and moving around. At the center of the cave was a giant sac of ooze that was glowing white.
Amy was trying her hardest not to cry out in horror. Hobbes put his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't make a sound."
In the middle hall, Jak, Daxter, Andy, Sherman and Socrates were slowly making their way towards wherever the hall led.
"You know, Me and Socrates weren't there when you met those three." Andy said. "So Sherman, do you mind explaining to me why you would trust them after, if I recall, one of them tranquilized you and locked you and the others in a room."
"They needed help." Sherman answered. "And we did manage to convince them we meant no harm."
"Plus, Bentley fixed the MTM for us." Daxter added.
"Okay, but why didn't you teleport back to us as soon as that was done?" Andy asked, moving on to the next question.
"Well, it was more of Calvin's choice, but we decided to help Bentley and Murray find Sly." Jak explained. "We thought that once we were done with that, we would go find the precursor star."
"And instead you found it while looking for Sly." Socrates said.
Jak nodded.
Suddenly they came across a large pile of rocks blocking their path.
"Huh." Daxter said looking at it. "Look's like I was wrong about the right one being a dead end."
"What do we do now?" Andy asked.
Jak observed the blockage. "Can't use plasmite bombs as that might bring the whole cave down and considering most of us are down here, that probably wouldn't be a wise choice."
"And the rocks are too big to move them." Sherman added. "Which means…."
"We're going to have to go back the way we came." Andy finished.
Everyone sighed in disappointment, except for Daxter, who was sighing in relief.
Finally, Ratchet, Clank, Sly, Bentley and Murray we're making their way through the right hall.
Ratchet, who didn't really know the three newcomers well at the moment, was talking to them as they went.
"So, you are a thief who steals things, but only from other criminals." Ratchet said, summarizing what Sly had told him about himself.
"That's right." Sly said.
"And this is apparently a family tradition for thousands of years. Dating all the way back to when you're universe was in the ice age."
"I think that sums it up."
"Okay, I know you a bit better now."
Meanwhile Bentley was reading a book that Calvin had given to him about what they we're up against and how they we're going to defeat it.
"I have a bit of a question for you." Bentley said.
"What is it?" Clank asked.
"According to you and the book, you're looking for 5 precursor stars to defeat someone called the king of shadows and save your universes."
"Well that's what we've been doing." Ratchet replied.
"But when you do find all 5, what happens then?"
Ratchet stopped when he heard that question.
All this time it never occurred to either him and the others what would they do when they found the precursor stars. They didn't know what power they held, or even if they were powerful enough to stop Tenebris.
"Ummm." Ratchet said trying to figure out an answer. "We'll try to figure it out when we get to that."
"I'm sure you will." Bentley replied.
Soon they came across a small room that had some excavating equipment.
"Hope this is a sign we're near a precursor star." Clank said looking at it.
Ratchet scanned the walls, trying to find a sign of a precursor star.
He then saw a small gap in the wall. Looking closely he saw a precursor star, that was still embedded in the rock. But there were still some bits of rock stuck to it.
Undeterred, Ratchet ran to the excavating equipment and got a drill.
"What are you doing?" Murray asked noticing what Ratchet was doing.
"Found a precursor star." Ratchet replied as he activated it. "And i'm getting it out."
He then began drill around the precursor star.
Clank got a communicator out and dialed the MTM.
Back with the right hallway group, they had stood there for about a minute trying their best not to move.
"What do we do now?" Sonic whispered.
"I suggest we go back, moving very slowly." Calvin replied.
"We should probably go one at a time." Amy suggested
Very slowly they began to walk backward. Keeping a close eye on the umbra.
Calvin, who was in front of them, turned to Tails and nodded to him.
Tails then made his way to hallway leading back to the main area.
Sonic then went, moving as quickly and quietly as possible.
Amy then went, moving quickly as well.
Just as Hobbes was about to go, the MTM rang.
Calvin quickly stared at it in horror before turning his attention to the umbra on the ceiling.
They were beginning to wake up as they quickly turned their eyes onto Calvin.
"RUN!" He yelled.
He and Hobbes immediately took off. In their panic they ran into Sonic.
"Woah what's the rush there?" Sonic asked.
"Someone tried to call Calvin on the MTM." Hobbes said pointing to Calvin. "And now the umbra are after us."
"It wasn't my fault." Calvin said interjectedly.
Just then a few umbra came towards them. Calvin used the transmogifyer gun and managed to get two of them, but one lunged at them.
However just before they were about to be shredded to pieces, Amy came in with her hammer and knocked the umbra away.
Silently thanking her, they quickly ran away as more umbra came after them.
Back with Ratchet, he was almost done with clearing the remaining rock that was surrounding the precursor star.
Suddenly the drill stopped. To make things worse they heard a roar echoing from the cavern.
"That does not sound good." Bentley said.
"Indeed." Clank replied. "I can't seem to get Calvin on the line."
Meanwhile, after several failed attempts to get the drill started again, Ratchet got his wrench out and began to whack it at the precursor star.
While it seemed to be inefficient at first, the star began to get loose from it's stone prison with each strike.
Finally after one more strike, it broke loose and fell to the ground.
Ratchet picked it up and pocketed it.
"Time to go." he said turning to the others.
They nodded and they ran off.
Meanwhile, Jak, Daxter, Andy, Sherman and Socrates were back at the main room. Waiting for the others to come back.
Just then they heard shouting coming from left.
"MTM fire a laser at them!"
"Sonic, how much farther do we have?"
"I think we're close to where we started."
"You think? We're being swarmed by Umbra."
Just then Sonic, Calvin, Tails, Hobbes and Amy came running out of the left hallway.
Hobbes, Tails and Amy stopped to catch their breath while Calvin pointed the MTM and the Transmogifyer gun at the left hallway and Sonic stood, ready to fight whatever came.
"Let me guess." Daxter said to Hobbes. "Your hall didn't lead to the precursor star."
"Worse." Hobbes replied. "It led to a hive of umbra, and now they're after us."
Jak got out the morph gun and put it in Vulcan Fury mode, pointing it at the left hallway. "Any word from Ratchet?" he asked
"I think he or Clank called the MTM." Calvin replied. "But it just had to be at the most inopportune time."
Just then a group of umbra emerged from the hallway.
At once Calvin fired both the MTM and Transmogifyer gun at them. Jak fired the Vulcan Fury, and Sonic spindashed his way through them and back.
Despite this, the umbra were still coming and the ones they didn't hit absorbed the remains of the others and got more powerful.
Just then they heard footsteps coming in from the right. The ones that weren't holding off the umbra turned and saw Ratchet, Sly, Bentley and Murray emerge with Clank on Ratchet's back.
"We got the precursor star." Murray said.
"Then let's go." Hobbes said.
The three holding off the umbra noticed the others running towards the hall out and began to ran with them as they continued to hold them off.
"They're still going to chase us even if we get out of here." Sonic said as they ran.
"Don't worry, I have something that could hold them off." Calvin said. "MTM."
"Yes."
"Deploy protocol 156."
"Righto."
A small orange sphere dropped from the MTM and rolled down the mineshaft.
Just as the heroes made it out, the sphere exploded. Sending out a wave of fire that consumed almost the entire mine and let out a jet of flame near the entrance of the mine shaft, causing the heroes to shield themselves.
Inside the mine shaft, it made it's way to the hive, and it incinerated everything there.
Once it was over, everyone stared at the mineshaft and saw puddles of black goo lying there.
"Well." Sonic said. "We don't have to worry about them following us anymore."
"Look." Sly said pointing to the sky. "Something is happening to the sky."
Everyone looked and saw that the black sky was vanishing, allowing a nice blue sky to shine through.
"Interesting." Tails said. "That hive seemed to be what was causing the skies to turn black."
"Well it's just for one planet." Ratchet pointed out. "As well as the other universes."
"Look, we only have one more precursor star to find." Calvin said. "After that we'll find this Tenebris guy and defeat him."
Sonic nodded. "And from the process of elimination, I think I can guess where the last one will be." he said turning to hobbes
Hobbes stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Of course."
Calvin got out the MTM and was about to tell it to teleport to his universe before it spoke.
"Incoming Message, Incoming Message!"
Calvin frowned and glanced at the others. Everyone was here, so who would be calling them?
Uncertain, he turned back to the MTM and said. "MTM, answer it please."
"Very we…"
It didn't have a chance to finish it's sentence before it got consumed by static.
Sonic and Ratchet looked at each other nervously, they knew what was going to happen.
Just then a deep voice came out of the MTM.
"Is this the device known as the MTM i'm speaking in?"
Calvin looked at it uncertain of what to say.
He looked at the others, who had similar expressions of concern.
"Yes." he said in a small voice.
"Then this is Tenebris speaking, I have come to say congratulations on surviving the hive." Tenebris said through the speaker. "And for freeing one of the planets from my rule."
"You're right we survived." Daxter cried out. "We've managed to survive everything you've thrown at us."
"By running away." Tenebris replied. "I must say, not very impressive for you heroes."
"Enough of the small talk." Sonic said approaching the MTM. "Why are you calling us?"
"Oh it's simple. I have what you want."
Everyone froze when he said that.
"He doesn't mean…" Jak said, knowing full well what the answer was going to be.
"That's right." Tenebris said. "I have the last precursor star you're looking for."