Cosmo smiled as she moved down along one of the moving aisles. She passed her family, and they all greeted her with a smile, asking the green-haired Seedrian girl how she was doing. Cosmo smiled at them and turned towards the end of the moving hallway. Her older sister, a long blue haired Seedrian with a flower on her head stood there waiting for her little sister to approach.
Cosmo smiled happily at the sight of the older Seedrian. "Galaxina!"
Galaxina smiled at her little sister as she stood next to her. "There you are, Cosmo. You've had Mother worrying all afternoon!"
Cosmo looked down, feeling bad. "I didn't mean too..." She muttered. "I was playing my pretend game again and I must've forgotten what time it was."
Galaxina smiled at her. "Don't worry, little Cosmo." She giggled. "We're all pretty used to your daydreaming by now."
Cosmo grumbled and crossed her arms in response.
Soon, Galaxina led Cosmo to their mother's greenhouse. Their mother's tree glowed brightly as the two sisters entered. Cosmo smiled at her mother. "Sorry to worry you, Mother." She apologized. Galaxina smiled. "She was dreaming again, like always."
And, like always, there was no response. Their mother's tree just glanced down at the two sisters.
Cosmo looked at Galaxina with a smile. "Hey, have you ever wondered if Mother likes to daydream too sometimes?" The green Seedrian girl asked. Galaxina looked at Cosmo. "Well, maybe!" She answered. Cosmo looked at her. "I'll bet she dreams about being back home again like I do!"
"Yes," Galaxina said, looking at Cosmo. "I'm sure it's a great comfort to her." She looked at the big tree in front of them. "To hope that one day, we'll all be back there."
"Galaxina, the elders say we'll be journeying through space like this forever," Cosmo said, her face lined with worry. Galaxina looked hopeful as she stared at their mother. "Not forever, Cosmo. Just until we destroy the evil Metarex monsters for good. Only then can we rest and search for a new planet to call home."
Cosmo stared at Galaxina, wishing she had the same hope. Galaxina looked down at her little sister, smiling happily and giving her a wink. "Come on, let's go. Mother has many errands for us today!"
"Yes." Cosmo finally smiled. She watched as her older sister darted off.
Cosmo glanced one last time at her mother with a smile before darting off. "Oh. Goodbye, Mother. See you later!" She smiled, taking after Galaxina.
The scene changed, and the ship Cosmo and her clan were in shook, knocking the Seedrian to the ground. Cosmo yelped as the ship rattled around her.
They were being attacked. Cosmo looked out the window and her eyes widened with fear when she saw a Metarex ship approaching. She gave another yelp as a powerful blast rocked the ship. Cosmo soon was on her feet again, running as fast as she could to try to escape the attack. She would've made it if a Metarex hadn't exploded a wall right in front of her. Cosmo stumbled back, and her crystal blue eyes widened with fear as the Metarex moved its eerie eyes at her.
"COSMO!" Her family screamed.
Penny blinked, the vision fading from her eyes as she looked at her surroundings. She was standing on the ground next to Cosmo, looking over at Knuckles and Tails, who were checking the communicator. Tails frowned as he pressed a few buttons. "My com links indicate there's a Chaos Emerald somewhere nearby." Tails announced. "But it won't pinpoint where exactly."
"Could be this one's buried underground where it's hard to get to," Chris told Tails thoughtfully. "Just means we're all going to work a little harder to get to it, that's all."
Knuckles walked up, his face full of inpatients. "Let's not just stand here twiddling our thumbs, let's look for this thing!" Knuckles grumbled impatiently.
"Yeah!" Sonic's voice soon came to the communicator. "Move it down there, will ya? And look after Penny!" At that, Tails, Knuckles, Cosmo, and Penny looked up to see the X Tornado flying close above them. Cream was waving at them. "Good luck, everybody! Be careful!" She cried, and Cheese chaoed in response.
Penny glanced at Sonic, and he shot her a thumbs up, which she returned. The X Tornado flew away, leaving her, Knuckles, Tails, and Cosmo. Penny looked behind her back to make sure her jet pack was on security. She sighed in relief, clutching its straps with both of her hands. She looked around the ancient ruins around here.
"Why do I have the sneaky suspicion that the Metarex have been here, too?" Tails asked, frowning as they walked through the ancient debris. "This place gives me the creeps!"
Penny nodded in response.
"Yup, just another sad x planet." Knuckles said, looking around as he walked. Cosmo stopped next to Tails and looked around. "Look around. Families lived here once. Children played all day without a care in the world. They didn't know what was coming." Her thoughts drifted towards that day where the Metarex attacked her ship and destroyed her entire clan. "Now they are all gone, just like Mother, and Galaxina, and they'll never come back! Sometimes I miss them so much."
She found herself staring at Tails, who stopped what he was doing and gave Cosmo a worried look. "Huh? What's that?" The fox asked. Cosmo gasped. Had she said that last part out loud? She looked down. "Nothing."
Penny looked at Cosmo worriedly.
"Take a look at this, Tails!" Knuckles suddenly called, grabbing their attention. Penny ran over alongside Tails, Knuckles, and Cosmo, and stood next to Knuckles at the edge of a cliff. He was peering down it with a serious expression on his face. "This has to be at least a mile deep!" He exclaimed.
"Well, Tails?" Penny asked the fox, still clenching the straps to her jet pack. Tails opened his communicator. The beeping that indicated the Chaos Emerald was nearby was growing louder. "This is it, you guys." Tails said. "The Chaos Emerald is down there somewhere!"
Soon, Penny found herself jetpacking down the cannon along with Tails, who was lowering Cosmo carefully to the ground. Knuckles climbed slowly down on the wall beside them. Cosmo suddenly gasped. "Look!" She called. "A cave!"
Penny glanced down and realized she was right. A cave was right below them. Knuckles turned to her, Tails, and Cosmo. "You three go check it out!" He ordered. Penny nodded and flew down after Tails and Cosmo, who landed at the entrance of the cave. The three friends soon started walking through the dark tunnel.
"I wish I bought a flashlight," Penny muttered to herself, feeling the walls. Cosmo nodded. "Be careful, you two. It's dark in here." She whispered from somewhere up ahead. The three walked for a while until Penny heard Cosmo gasp in fear. "What? What is it?" Penny asked the girl at the same time Tails asked Cosmo what was the matter.
Cosmo looked at them, fear in her eyes. "I don't know, it felt like some kind of..." Before she could finish her sentence, the three gave a yelp as the whole cave started crumbling.
"It's gonna collapse!" Penny yelled. She looked over at Tails and Cosmo, and her eyes widened when she saw their danger. "TAILS! COSMO!" Penny yelled, and she ran through the falling rocks and pushed them away. The three yelled in fear as they tumbled through the ground, and Penny's world faded to black.
Penny groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She could see a faded image of Cosmo and Tails looking at her with worry. "Penny..." Cosmo whimpered. "Please be okay..."
"She's coming too!" Tails gasped, running over to Penny and slowly helping her to sit up. Penny moaned in pain and felt her head. "What happened?" She whimpered.
"Careful!" Tails gasped, supporting the girl.
"You're hurt!" Cosmo whimpered.
"I feel dizzy..." Penny moaned in pain. She looked up. "Strange. I remember walking inside the cave and hearing this rumbling... I must've passed out."
"You saved us." Tails smiled softly at Penny, and the human girl smiled back. However, Cosmo looked glum. "It's my fault," The girl whimpered. "If I hadn't touched that thing, then none of this would've happened!"
"The button!" Penny gasped, looking at Cosmo. "I remember now!"
Tails then turned to Cosmo. "Hey, don't feel bad, Cosmo! This is a good thing! We'll tell Chris where we're are and then we'll start looking around!"
Cosmo looked fearful. "What if the Metarex are in here?"
Tails looked at his communicator watch. "Chris, Amy, Sonic, do you read me?"
Nothing.
"No good." Tails said, closing it. "We must've lost our connection!"
Cosmo looked down. "I'm sorry..." She whimpered.
Penny smiled at Cosmo through her dizziness. "Don't worry, Cosmo." She said, wincing a little in pain. "We'll make the most of it! Right, Tails?"
Tails nodded. "Right." He pressed a button on his communicator and smiled. "We're still getting a reading, so the Emerald's gotta be down here somewhere!"
"Then let's go!" Penny said. She was about to stand up when Cosmo grabbed the human girl's arm. "Wait, Penny," Cosmo said, ripping off a part of her dress to make a bandage. She stood up and walked up to Penny. "Cosmo, really, I'm okay!" Penny protested, but Cosmo tied the bandage carefully around her head. "I don't care," Cosmo said, shaking her head. "Sonic would want this, and it's better to be safe than sorry, as I always say."
Penny caught Tails smiling a little at Cosmo as she checked him for injuries as well. She giggled as Tails blushed happily. "Is that how Sonic and I are like sometimes?" She wondered, feeling her bandaged head.
Soon, they were walking again. "You know," Tails told the girls. "I really gotta upgrade this thing when we get outta here. Like maybe add some type of software that allows you to cut through subterranean rock formations."
"Uh-huh..." Cosmo muttered, still looking like she felt bad for what just happened. Tails continued talking, and Penny shot Cosmo a worried look.
Cosmo stopped walking.
"Cosmo?" Tails asked.
Cosmo looked up.
"You okay?" Tails smiled at her.
Cosmo blushed. "Uh-hu," She answered. "Just daydreaming!"
"No problem with that." Penny giggled. "I daydream all of the time!"
"Really?" Cosmo asked happily.
Before Penny could reply, tiny fireflies flew around them. Tails gasped. "Hey, look, Cosmo, Penny! They're like some kind of fireflies or something!"
The girls gasped at the sight of it.
"They're pretty..." Penny muttered. The three friends watched as the strange firefly like objects flew into another tunnel.
"I wonder where they're going!" Cosmo said curiously.
"Yeah, let's follow them!" Tails said. Penny grabbed Cosmo's hand and they took off after the fireflies. Pretty soon, the fireflies led them to an underground base.
"Whoa..." Tails gasped in amazement.
They were staring at an underground Metarex ship.
...
Knuckles grunted as he hammered his way through the rocks with his shovel claws. "There's a whole avalanche work of rocks here!" He grunted as he dug. "Something must've charred them all loose!"
Amy frowned as she watched Knuckles continue his digging. "Just listen to him in there, showing off with those big silly claws of his!" She grumbled.
Cream turned to her, Cheese in her arms. "Say what you will, but I have faith in Knuckles." Cream looked down. "You should, too."
Amy finally smiled.
Chris looked at his watch. "I'm using the infrared moving tracker, but I can't seem to get a reading from anywhere!" Chris muttered in frustration. "It looks like a system of interconnected caves, and I'm guessing there's gotta be more than one way down there."
Blaze looked at them. "So while Knuckles is busy boulderizing we can snoop around for a bit."
Cream looked worried. "Let's hurry. It must be awful spooky in that place! I don't like to think of them down there."
Cheese chaoed in response.
Sonic smiled. "Cheer up. We'll find them!"
Chris smiled as well. All he and Sonic hopped was that Penny would be okay.
...
Penny followed Tails and Cosmo through the Metarex base, carefully avoiding any patroling Metarexes and traps. Tails stopped at a corner and peered at the sight in front of them.
"This is a nightmare..." Cosmo whimpered, and Penny squeezed her hand. Tails nodded. "I think we all are having the same bad dream." He whispered as he hid behind the wall. The fox opened his communicator, where the Chaos Emerald locations were still in contact.
"The Chaos Emerald is located somewhere in this complex." Tails said, closing the watch and looking at the girls. "Ready, Cosmo, Penny?"
The girls nodded.
When the hallway was clear of any roaming Metarexes, the three friends darted around the whole ship until they entered some type of experiment room that Penny never saw before. It was a strange sight... there were glass safes all around the room, and in front of them were a bunch of fake Chaos Emeralds.
Penny looked around, confused. Why were the Metarex using fake Chaos Emeralds, why were they making more, and where was the real one?
"A whole room full of Emeralds..." Cosmo muttered. The three walked to one safe. Cosmo studied each one of them. "It's some kind of...manufacturing plant!"
"Oh, so that's what it is!" Penny said. "I thought it was a laboratory of some sort!"
They finally stopped in front of a safe with the real Chaos Emerald. "This must be the real one." Tails said. "They're feeding off it somehow. So they'll all have the same kind of power. This explains the counterfeit one when that the Metarex had on Planet Breezy!"
"That's right!" Penny gasped, remembering everything on their visit to the Blizzard planet. "It looked so real, it fooled all of us!"
"And now there's a whole factory full of them!" Cosmo gasped. She turned to Tails and Penny, her hands clenched. "Why would they be doing this?"
Tails looked down. "I don't know." He said. "It's weird. But if I can hack into their computer system somehow, we just may be able to find an answer!" He walked up to the computer and started typing.
Penny frowned at the writing on the screen. "Some kind of strange code..." She muttered. "Tails, could you analyze that?"
Tails shook his head. "Sorry, Penny, I really can't! I don't recognize it! Not to mention deciphering it,"
Cosmo walked up to them and looked at the screen. To Penny's surprise, the Seedrian girl started reading the language. "It says here, 'Operation Duplicate.' With a list of key Chaos Emerald components. Let's see... stabilized energy, 93% compression rate, a distillation of properties."
Penny stared at Cosmo in shock. "Cosmo, you can read this?!" The girl asked, her eyes wide with surprise. Cosmo smiled back. "Only some." She then looked glum. "But I'm not more familiar with a lot of the technical data. I wish I could help more..."
Tails shot her a thumbs up and a wink. "You helped a lot, Cosmo! Now let's download this information right away!" He took out a plug and connected his watch to the machine, downloading it from the machine to his watch. "We'll look at the data when we get back to the Blue Typhoon!" Tails said. He looked at Cosmo. "Will you help me translate?"
Cosmo looked so happy. "Sure, I'd love to!" She then touched her amulet with a sorry expression. "It's the least I could do after this mess I've gotten you all into."
Penny glanced at Cosmo, straightening her bandage. "But Cosmo, we wouldn't have discovered all of this if it weren't for you..." She paused when a frightful metallic hiss interrupted her.
"Penny? What's wrong?" Tails asked, looking at Penny's frightened expression. He looked to where she was looking and glared at the Metarex in front of them. "Intruder!" The Metarex hissed in its metallic voice. This one looked like a desert serpent, a sphere in his hand. The Metarex serpent slithered towards them.
"Cosmo, Penny, get the real Emerald!" Tails ordered. Penny nodded and grabbed Cosmo's hand, and the two girls ran towards the safe which held the real Emerald.
The Metarex glared at them. "I will teach you not to trespass! You are not wanted here!" He lunged at Cosmo and Penny. "Hurry, Cosmo!" Penny urged, and the two girls unlocked the safe. Penny hastily grabbed the white Chaos Emerald. Tails thought quick and snapped off a wire from the machine. Electricity sparked around the wire as Tails tossed it at the Metarex. The wire landed right in the Metarex's mouth, electrocuting it. Penny grabbed Cosmo's hand and ran out of the room, Tails close behind. Penny winced as the alarm sounded right then and there.
The three ran outside the manufacturing area and hid behind rocks as the Metarex slithered by them. Cosmo and Penny looked at Tails with worry. "I hate to say it, Tails, but I think the Emerald is leading them right to us!" Penny said.
Tails smiled at the girls. "Don't worry, I got a plan! I knew there was something funny about these fireflies!" He smiled, unleashing the little glowing bugs.
"What do you mean?" Cosmo asked.
Tails smiled. "They're tiny robots powered by the energy of Chaos Emeralds! Same components and everything." He released the Emerald bots in the air and they spread out. Cosmo smiled happily. "Tails, you're a genius!"
Penny giggled happily at Tails' blushing.
Soon, they were on the move again. Tails smiled at the girls. "We'll be safe now that we threw off the Metarex." He said. "And we'll be out of here in no time!"
"I can't wait to see the sunlight again," Penny said. "It's dark in here! And the only light we have is coming from the Chaos Emerald!" She said, motioning her hand to the white emerald in Cosmo's hand.
"Sure!" Cosmo smiled. "We'll be okay." She looked at the Emerald. "The light... it reminds me of how Mother made me feel. Like nothing bad could happen. It's just so bright. And warm. And loving."
"That's how I felt when I held six of them!" Penny said with a smile.
"Yeah!" Tails nodded. "I guess Chaos Emeralds have that effect on folks. You know, it's kind of interesting. You could be in the worst possible danger, but once you hold a Chaos Emerald in your hand you feel a lot safer."
Cosmo smiled at them. "When I was a young girl., my older sister Galaxina used to tell me the legend of the Chaos Emeralds. And I...I used to dream that one day I will hold one in my hand and feel all of its magical power."
"And lookee here, your dream came true!" Penny smiled. "You're holding the Chaos Emerald in your hands and feeling its magical powers!"
Cosmo smiled back, her face full of happiness.
"A power that is greatest when it is used by those who have pure of heart and intention!" Tails smiled.
Cosmo looked confused. "I don't understand..." She muttered.
"Its power depends on those who use it, you see. Like Sonic and Silver for instance. They use them for good, so only good can come of it! But then there are those like the Metarex or Dr. Eggman, who uses it for the purpose of evil. That's when the power changes to something dark and destructive." Tails explained.
Cosmo stopped walking.
"Cosmo?" Tails and Penny turned to her.
"Oh, Tails, Penny, I'm not worthy of touching the Chaos Emerald! Please take it away from me!" Cosmo whimpered. She handed the Chaos Emerald to Penny, who slowly took it in confusion. Tails looked at Cosmo. "Why, Cosmo?" He asked. Cosmo looked at them, looking like she was going to cry. "Because my soul is filled up with nothing but sadness and hatred. Hatred for those monsters who destroyed my planet, and took away my family and my friends and everything else that was precious to me and left me all alone!"
Tails and Penny looked at each other, their eyes saddened.
Cosmo looked at them again. "There's no way any good comes from me!" She whispered. "I will only bring you evil and disaster!"
"Cosmo..." Tails said.
Penny looked up and gave a yelp as a tentacle zoomed down at them. She gasped as the tentacle swatted her to the ground, causing the human girl to drop the Chaos Emerald.
"Penny!" Tails and Cosmo yelled in horror.
Penny grunted in pain as her back collided with the cave wall, causing her head to spin again. She whimpered in pain, eyes squeezed tight. The tentacle picked the real Chaos Emerald from the ground.
Tails and Cosmo helped Penny sit up. Tails glared at the Metarex. "Give that back!" He yelled.
"I'm afraid that is not possible." The Metarex growled.
"Forget it, Tails!" Cosmo pleaded, looking over Penny. "We have to get Penny out of here, now!" Tails stood up in front of Penny and Cosmo protectively. "I'm begging you..." Cosmo whimpered.
The Metarex laughed. "Perhaps you should listen to your little friend." He and a few other Metarexes moved closer to them, surrounding them.
"Okay." Tails said. "I guess all your meta mutants think you're pretty tough, don't you?" He asked. "Well, we're pretty tough too, and we've got good on our side, which is more than you can say!"
"Tails, don't..." Penny moaned, and Cosmo put a hand on her shoulder and looked at Tails pleadingly. Tails frowned. "There's nothing to be afraid of." He said. "I'll be okay!" He took a leap into the air and used his tails to launch an attack at the Metarex that held the Emerald. The Emerald fell right in front of Penny and Cosmo.
"NOW!" Tails yelled.
Cosmo gasped and ran over to grab the Emerald.
"Stay away from that Emerald!" The Metarex growled and started to chase after Cosmo. Tails growled and tried to fly to her rescue, however, the Metarex grabbed Tails with its tail.
"TAILS!" Penny screamed from the corner she was resting against.
"Let go of me, let go!" Tails yelled, struggling in the Metarex's grip.
"Oh, no, Tails!" Cosmo yelled the Emerald in her hands.
"I've had enough with your foolishness!" The Metarex growled at Tails.
Penny whimpered as the Metarex surrounded her and Cosmo. "Sonic..." Penny whimpered.
However, at just the right moment, Tails' communicator blinked, and Penny's eyes widened when the girl heard her brother's voice over the radio. "Tails! Penny! Cosmo! Do you read me?!"
"HURRY!" Tails yelled at Chris. "THEY'VE GOT US!"
"Not for long!"
Penny's eyes widened with happiness as Sonic burst through the wall, smashing the Metarex that held Tails to the ground. Then he destroyed the ones that surrounded Cosmo and Penny.
"Who dares help the enemy?!" The Metarex growled.
"I DARE!" Amy snapped. She growled as she smashed the Metarex with her pikow hammer.
"Man, that was close." Chris sighed as he landed on the ground with Cream in his arms, and Blaze joined them. When he placed her down, he smiled at Tails, Cosmo, and Penny. "Hey, guys!" He grinned.
"You really are lifesavers, you know that?" Tails grinned.
"Well, yeah!" Blaze grinned at them.
"Thank goodness you're safe!" Cream smiled. "Now those monsters are gone, and we can all go home!"
"That's right," Cosmo said, holding the Emerald in her hands.
However, the Metarex popped out of the rocks, pointing an accusing finger at them. "Not so fast! Don't let them get away!" He growled.
"Bring it on!" Blaze said, readying her flames with one swipe of her hand.
"We're ready for ya!" Amy added.
"You want some more of this, hu?" Sonic smirked, and instantly turned into ball form and smashed right through the robots, along with Amy and Blaze's help. Even Cream helped by launching Cheese at the Metarex, who attacked them all with powerful punches. Chris even protected his sister by jumping in front of her and firing his laser gun at any Metarex who came near them.
"See, Cosmo, nothing but good can come when you help your friends!" Tails smiled.
"Right!" Cosmo said.
"Let's go!" Tails said, and Cosmo nodded, gripping the Chaos Emerald tightly.
"Sonic, I will destroy you!" The Metarex that was left standing growled.
"Just try!" Sonic smirked. But before Sonic could launch a blow at the Metarex, Cosmo tossed him a Chaos Emerald, and Sonic smirked. "Bye-bye!" He laughed, destroying the Metarex with a single blow.
When the last Metarex was destroyed, Sonic ran over to Penny. "Penny, are you okay?" He asked, his voice sounding anxious.
Penny nodded, her eyes squeezed tight. "My head hurts..." She whimpered, touching her forehead gently. Sonic winced as he helped her up. "We'll have to get that looked at. Just hang in there a little longer." He said. "Looks like you took a big hit."
Penny nodded. Sonic leaned down and picked her up in his arms, causing Penny to yelp in surprise and cling to him. "No, really, Sonic, I can move just fine on my own!" She protested.
Sonic shook his head. "You may have a concussion from that hit you took," Sonic said, frowning at her. "We need to get you to the infirmary to get that looked at right away!"
Penny sighed in defeat. She had never quarreled with him and won. Well, there were times she had won. This was one of those times where Sonic won.
Penny blinked at the sudden brightness as they all walked out of the cave. When they were out, Sonic instantly zoomed her to the infirmary, where he checked on her wounds.
"Just rest now." Sonic smiled, putting the rest of the medical equipment away into its proper places. "Tails and I have a lot of work to do right now."
Penny nodded and smiled as he left. The girl relaxed on the bed, and she realized something, sitting up straight. "Huh, I wonder if Knuckles ever clawed his way out?" She pondered.
...
"You know, I have the feeling that whatever's on here might help us put an end to their planet egg plan," Chris said, looking at the data that Tails had downloaded from the Manufacturing room.
Cream smiled. "Maybe the code will tell us where all the Planet Eggs are hidden and we can save the Galaxy!"
Blaze grinned. "That's right!" She turned to Cosmo. "Good thing we have our brilliant translater with us!" Cosmo looked at Blaze in surprise, then down at the ground. "Well, thanks Blaze, but I feel like I put you all in danger today."
"That's silly." Tails smiled at her. "Plus we're used to danger now!"
"Danger is our middle name!" Cream smiled.
Tails shot Cosmo a wink, and the Seedrian finally smiled.
"Well, let's get going, you guys," Chris said with a smile.
Amy grinned. "We still got plenty of Metarex to mangle!"
"That's right!" Tails said. "An thanks to our friend Cosmo, this time we'll be way ahead of them! Right gang?"
Everyone cheered in agreement.
Knuckles grunted as he popped his head out of the ground. "Ugh. Finally!" He muttered. He looked around and frowned. "They must be around here somewhere..."
As if getting the feeling he was being watched, Knuckles looked up to see Chris, Blaze, Amy, Tails, Cream, Cheese, and Cosmo staring at him. "Huh? Hey, where did you guys come from?" He asked curiously.
Everyone laughed.
Knuckles growled. "What's so funny?!" The red echidna questioned. "Think you can stop chuckling long enough to get me out of here? Hey, come on! I mean it! Get me out of here!" Knuckles yelled as his friends continued laughing.
