Chapter 21: Eolas

Sonic yawned loudly was he and Tails hiked through the jungle of Pistris Island. Ever since Emma Nets had allowed the kitsune to examine and learn from the sea fae books Sonic had recovered from her boat, he had been trying to get Sonic to perform some of the techniques. Today the fox insisted that they needed to find a quiet spot full of nature, so they went to a stream not far from the beach.

"So, what we doing here buddy?" The blue hedgehog asked as he stifled another yawn.

"Well, according this book it's called 'Eolas'." Tails explained as he show Sonic the page he was looking at; Sonic copied the picture as he knelt down and placed his hand into the dirt. inches away from the water.

"It says you can't just look, you have to feel." The younger male added and Sonic nodded. "Feel what's under you, feel what's around you; if you can you'll connect to your oldest instincts, your primal nature, and then you'll know what Eolas is."

"I'm trying to focus here." He snapped as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He gasped as he felt a sudden jolt go through him as his eyes snapped open and his eyes started moving in all directions. Tails gasped when he saw that instead of green he was looking into moon blue orbs.

"Are you OK?" He asked as a smile spread across his friend's face and he was looking around in all directions.

"I can see everything, hear everything." He muttered as he looked to the left and saw a momma bird feeding her babies on the other side of the island and when he turned to the right he saw a fisherman's boat miles of the coast of the island.

"This is amazing." He smiled as he stood up, still in a trance.

All of a sudden he took off running back towards the beach, laughing as he ran. Tails gasped and ran after his best friends. Sonic may of been the fastest thing alive but with so many trees and rocks blocking his way he couldn't build up enough momentum, but Tails was still having trouble keeping up with the blue hybrid.

"Sonic! Sonic, not that way!" Tails cried, but he wouldn't listen as he disappeared into the green. "Sonic, wait! Sonic!"

"Whoo!" Sonic laughed as he ran onto to beach. He suddenly cried out in pain as he fell to the sandy floor, clutching his head tightly. He looked around and saw an abandoned lighthouse on the edge of a cliff a few feet away from him.

"Sonic! Snap out of it!" Tails screamed when he finally caught up with his friend. "You're too near the lighthouse!" He noticed when Sonic suddenly went limp in his grip. Tails looked down and panicked when he saw Sonic had passed out due to the pain.

"Sonic, please wake up!" He begged as he felt tears in his eyes. Sonic suddenly sat up, gasping for air. Tails sighed in relief when he saw that his best friend's eyes had returned to green.

"What just happened?" He asked as he started to get a dull migraine.

"The electrical signals in the lighthouse must of interfered with your powers." Tails concluded as he helped Sonic stand up. "You've got to be careful with this stuff." He added and Sonic could only nod...

"You did what?!" Chuck shouted. Sonic and Tails had just gotten back to the blue hedgehog's house and explained to his uncle and Emma about what they had been doing.

"I don't see the problem, Unc." Sonic smiled. "It's amazing!"

"It's not amazing, it's dangerous!" Chuck glared.

"How would you know, if you've never tried it?" The younger hedgehog argued.

"That's not the point!"

"I'm sorry about this Uncle Chuck." Tails muttered. "It just went a bit wrong."

"A bit wrong? He passed out!" Emma exclaimed.

"That's exactly why we didn't want you finding out about this nonsense." Chuck added.

"But I think Sonic's right, I think it was my job to tell him." Emma suddenly said calmly. "I've been there, I've done that."

"You've used Eolas?" Sonic asked in shock.

"I dabbled a bit when I was younger." She chuckled.

"Emma!" Chuck glared at the old woman.

"What? It was fun, as long as you keep it in the wild." She shrugged. "He only passed out because of the electricity coming from the lighthouse, it's no-one's fault." She said but Chuck turned to glare at the boys.

"I think you better go home, Miles." He said. Sonic wanted to argue, but the yellow fox stopped him.

"See you tomorrow, Sonic." He smiled before leaving. As soon as they heard the door shut, Sonic turned to glare at his uncle.

"Well, that was rude." He hissed.

"I don't want you messing with it again, do you understand?" Uncle Chuck growled as Sonic stood up and made his way to his bedroom. "Eolas wrecks families, lives!"

"The only person wrecking things, is you!" Sonic shouted before running upstairs and slamming the door.

"Nice job, very supportive." Chuck growled at Emma...

Sonic groaned as calmly walked through the boardwalk. It had been a day since he had discovered Eolas and things at his house were very tense. That night he had heard Chuck and Emma arguing and he kept hearing them say something about 'Eolas' and 'Karen'. He hadn't used Eolas since yesterday but he really wanted to go back to Pistris Island and give it another go.

He looked towards the beach and frowned when he saw Emma Nets sitting on a bench, staring out towards the ocean. He quietly walked over to her and sat down.

"Emma, are you OK?" He asked.

"Just lost in my memories." She sighed

"Emma, how old were you when you first learned about Eolas?" He asked.

"I was around thirteen."

"Why did you stop?"

"I met Richard." She smiled. "After we got married he was always one for emphasising the need to fit in with Mobians, for my own safety, and he was right about that; it's up to us to fit in, not the other way around."

"I don't see why we can't fit in and be special." He frowned. "Can't you use it anymore?"

"I haven't been able to use any of my powers since the king stripped me of my sea fae side."

"That's awful."

"Well, it's not like I need them anymore." She sighed. "Before electricity, most sea faes lived in villages of the coasts of land and Eolas was just taken for granted; it was a way to stay connected to their homes when they got lost and it was also used to see danger such as sharks or fisherman."

"So, why are you and Uncle Chuck so dead set against me using it?"

"Because it's supposed to be addictive and it doesn't work in the modern world, after land-dwellers moved closer to the sea and technology was installed into boats most sea faes had to abandon their homes to move deeper into the depths and some were in so much pain when they did use it that they would be unable to be aware of their surrounding so when danger was near... well..."

Sonic shivered at the thought.

"Some people also say it drives sea fae mad." She added.

"Do you agree?" He asked and she sighed.

"I've seen it happen, but maybe it affects some more than others." She replied. "Like some people can control their emotions and appetites more than others can."

Sonic just nodded and turned to the sea...

When Sonic and Emma returned home, they were surprised to see Chuck packing up all the sea fae related items Sonic had recovered from the sunken boat into boxes.

"What are you doing?" Sonic asked.

"You're not to research anything on sea faes any more." He glared, much to their shock. "You're not using this stuff again until you promise me to my face that you'll never use Eolas ever again."

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Sonic shouted. "I'm a sea fae! I'm allowed to know more about my heritage if I want to!"

"In my house, under my rules, you are a child and you'll do as you're told!"

"By sea fae standards I'm an adult! Not a child! And Eolas is mine to do what I want with it!" He shouted before running back upstairs.

"Sonic! Get back here! I am talking to you!" He called after his nephew, but all he got was the sound of a door slamming.

"You handled that well." Emma sighed.

"Yeah, well somebody had to!" He growled. She just sighed and walked away...

Tails yawned as he groggery woke up to a thumping sound. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around his dark bedroom. As the fog cleared from his mind, he realised that the sound was from small rocks being thrown at his window. He went over and saw Sonic in his backyard with a rucksack on his shoulder.

The fox opened the window and used his namesakes to quietly fly down to the blue hedgehog.

"What's happened?" He asked.

"Uncle Chuck." He growled. "Can you put us up for a few days?"

"Can I what?"

"Please buddy, he's driving us mad! I can't live with him any more!"

"Oh yes, because he'd never be able to track you back to my house, what was I thinking?" The kitsune replied with an eye roll. "Maybe you should just knuckle under and wait for him to calm down."

"What's wrong with everyone?!" Sonic hissed. "All I want to do is live my life as a sea fae, which I am! I'm sick of being lied to and manipulated!"

"You know your uncle cares about you."

"He don't care about us, he's just scared of me learning about my powers."

"Sonic, it's two am." Tails groaned. "Stop being such a pain and go home."

"Right." He huffed. "Well, thanks for all the support." He glared before turning to leave.

"It'll work out, you know it will." The fox called after him. "Where are you going?"

"What do you care?!" He growled before dashing off into the echoing night...

The next morning Uncle Chuck went upstairs to see his nephew. He and Emma had waited for almost an hour for the blue hedgehog to come down stairs for breakfast but there was no sign of him. When he realised the teen wasn't in his room, Chuck began to tear the room apart

"Some of his clothes are gone." He frowned.

"Maybe he just didn't feel like having breakfast with us." Emma shrugged.

"And his rucksack." He panicked. "Do you think he-"

"What? Run away?" She glared. "Can't say I'd be surprised."...

After realising Sonic wasn't anywhere near the house, Chuck and Emma went looking for Amy, Knuckles and Tails to see if they'd seen him. They found the trio hanging out in the juice bar, but Sonic wasn't with them.

"Have you kids seen Sonic?" Chuck asked the second he came up to the table.

"I haven't seen him since late last night." Tails replied

"You saw him last night?" Amy interrupted.

"He came to mine, but I told him to go home and he left."

"We haven't seen him either." Amy added and Knuckles nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, he's making a point." Emma said to Chuck. "We'll find him somewhere, cooling off."

"We'll come with you." Knuckles said as he and Tails stood up.

"No! I'll find him." Chuck frowned.

"Chuck, please, their young and will be able to keep up with Sonic." Emma soothed. Chuck thought about it before sighed and the boys took off, leaving the girls alone...

Emma and Amy decided to return to Sonic's house to see if the blue hedgehog had returned home, of course, he hadn't. They were currently sat in the kitchen, enjoying a nice cup of tea.

"Why is Uncle Chuck so scared of Eolas?" Amy suddenly asked and Emma sighed in defeat.

"Do you remember me telling you about Karen?"

"Your other daughter who moved away when she was a teenager?" She asked and Emma closed her eyes.

"She didn't move away, she ran away."

"Why?"

"Because she discovered Eolas." She sighed. "It was all she talked about, all she cared about. She didn't have any time for me any more, or her family. She was playing truant every day and then she just vanished. Me and Richard had no choice but to call the police. As far as they were concerned, she was just another missing young girl, she still is, but we knew better."

"What happened to her."

"She swam out into the sea to live as a sea fae." Emma replied as her voice cracked. "As far as she was concerned the land-dwellers were cruel and heartless beasts and so she fled to the only place where she truly felt at home."

"So Chuck's worried the same this will happen to Sonic?" She asked and Emma nodded. "Why did you never tell us this?"

"Because I keep thinking that she's going to come back." Emma sobbed as tears started streaming down her face. Amy felt her heart ache as she went over and pulled the old woman into a hug...

Sonic giggled to himself as he swam through the waters around Pistris Island. He was happily using Eolas again and was enjoying the feeling, all the things he could see and everything he could hear. As he swam, he suddenly frozen when he saw Chuck, Tails and Knuckles nearby on the echidna's boat, obviously looking for him.

"Where could he be?" Chuck mumbled when the boat suddenly lurched forward to a stop.

"Stop traitors!" Sonic's suddenly growled, but they couldn't see where it was coming from. "You're supposed to be on my side! Our side!" He shouted angrily to his two friends.

"Sonic! You don't know what you're doing!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"No! You don't know what you're doing, helping him! This is who we are. This is what we're meant to be!"

"Sonic, listen to me!" Chuck pleaded.

"No, you listen! You lied to us! You knew about Eolas and withheld it from us! You withheld my birthright!"

"I'm sorry! It's my fault! Come out and we'll talk about it." He begged

"That's all you ever do! Talk. To control and manipulate us."

"Sonic! That's not true." Tails argued.

"How would you know?!" The hybrid snarled.

"You don't understand, Sonic! Eolas is dangerous, it's addictive!" Chuck cried.

"More lies! Eolas is our birthright, and I'll use it how I please."

"Well, that's just it. You're not using it, Sonic, it's using you." Knuckles said.

"Come and get us then." He mocked before it went quiet again and they could see a clear foamy trail, showing the way Sonic was going.

Knuckles immediately attempted to start the boat again, yet it wouldn't move. Tails went to check the rotor and growled when he saw that Sonic had frozen the rotor...

Sonic laughed as he left his uncle and friends stranded in the middle of ocean with a frozen rotor. He quickly went back to exploring the bright corals and playing with the dolphins.

He didn't know what Emma and his uncle were so worried about, he loved the ocean and his powers.

If he could he would live down here forever, with no rules and no responsibilities. He was a sae fae and he deserved to live like one, in the ocean where he belong.

Suddenly he screamed when pain unlike anything he'd ever felt before started ringing in his brain.

He clutched his head and tried to focus on where the pain was coming from, but that seemed to make the pain worse. The last thing he felt was the feeling of dozens of fish swimming passed him before everything went black...

The first thing Sonic felt when he regained consciousness was the ringing pain that was pounding around in his skull. It was bad enough to make him throw up and pass out again. The second thing he noticed that he was surrounded by dozens of panicked fish, who all seemed to be crammed into a ball of somesorts around him.

He tried to swim out of the school when his fingers suddenly became tangled in something.

He gasped when he realised that it he was trapped inside a fishing net. He then saw that it was one of those illegal fishing nets. The blue hedgehog began to panic as he twisted around, pulled and bit at the thin wires of the net, which were starting to cut into his fingers and the palm of his hands. Up on the surface, the fishermen were checking the nets when they saw Sonic's shadow in the water.

Thinking it was some sort of shark or a dolphin, one fisherman quickly grabbed his spear gun and shot into their large catch.

Sonic let out a cry of pain when he felt the spear clipped the right side of his tail, close to the fins, and the water around him started to turn red with his blood. The fishermen frowned when the blood clouded the waters, blocked their view of the creature. The other fisherman decided to pull the nets up to see what they had caught and his partner held his spear gun at the ready.

Sonic went into a full blown panic mode when he felt the net slowly being lifted out of the water.

He tried to move but he had little room and his tail was really hurting. He started having flashbacks to when one of Amy's Dad's employees were illegally fishing sea turtles and he end getting caught up in the nets. Except this time his friends weren't there to save him. As the net rised out of the sea, the fishermen's widened when the saw an unusual, bloody tail franticly swishing around through the net.

As they were about to drop the net onto the deck, boat suddenly lurched forward and fishermen fell to slippery floor.

They sat up and their eyes widened when they saw an angry Knuckles, Chuck and Tails jump onto their boat. The fisherman holding the spear aimed at them, but Knuckles quickly grabbed the gun and punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious. The other fisherman pulled out a small knife and started swinging at Chuck and Tails.

Tails quickly used his namesakes to knock the man's legs out from under him.

As soon as he fell to the floor, Chuck kicked the knife out of his reach and before he could react, Knuckles quickly grabbed him by the neck and dragged him down below deck with his unconscious partner. As soon as they were out of sight and Knuckles returned, Tails pulled the lever and the net dropped onto the deck with a loud thud.

The fish scattered around them and Sonic, still in a panic, curled up into a defencive ball and puffed out his spines.

"Sonny-Boy, it's me." Chuck smoothed and Sonic looked over his shoulder as he uncurled.

"Uncle Chuck." He whispered in relief as he jumped onto the older hedgehog and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, I am so sorry." He sobbed.

"It's OK, lad." He reassured as he hugged his nephew even tighter. "You're safe now."

Tails and Knuckles smiled as their friend pulled away from his uncle and gave him a teary smile.

"I am never using Eolas again."...