.
On a mission nowhere bound
Inhibitions underground
A shallow grave
I have dug all by myself
Chapter Three: The Mystery that is the Master Emerald
Nothing about Angel Island lived up to its name these days. It wasn't even an island anymore, having fallen perfectly into the crater it had created last time it had fallen from the sky. That, however, was no reason for the islands guardian to leave its borders. He stayed where he was, seldom allowing his eyes to leave the shattered fragments of the Master Emerald. He certainly didn't allow a single shard out of his sight when a certain jewel obsessed bat was around… like today ... like right now.
"Why exactly are you here?" Knuckles asked.
The question was rhetorical. He knew perfectly well that Cream had requested a get together. Something about another hedgehog and a mission or something … He glared at the bat by his side, who was sifting through the shards.
"Helping," she murmured absent-mindedly as she picked up first one piece, then another, always so carefully, almost reverently, replacing each fragment back to how Knuckles had arranged it.
Knuckles scoffed. As if he didn't know better.
"Scoff all you want."
She held a particularly large shard up to the sun, but her out of the corners of her eyes, she was looking and smiling at him.
"I know perfectly well how much you enjoy spending time with me. After all, you and I are drawn to each other like bees to a flower."
She was teasing. He knew she was teasing. She was always teasing and he was always blushing. He hated these stupid blushes, especially when it was so obvious that the only thing on that thieving bat's mind were jewels. He growled at her and swiped the shard out of her hand. A blue blur and the following gust of unnatural wind made Knuckles swallow whatever words he was about to say.
"Hey guys", Sonic greeted cheerily.
"About time", Knuckles huffed. "Where's the rest?"
"On their way. I'm here to give you the update."
Sonic began retelling what happened several hours prior, starting when Sonic and Violett saved Tails from Eggman. He was just about to get into why they needed Knuckles' help when they both noticed something glowing. All three stared on as the Master Emerald slowly began to glow. Despite the fact that Knuckles had said it would be only a matter of time until it would regain its power and return to its original state, absolutely nothing had happened since it broke. Was it purely a coincidence that it was repairing itself now of all times?
There was the unmistakable sound of large, flapping wings that grabbed everyone's attention. Violett flew into sight with a set of beautiful white wings on her back, landing gracefully in front of the small group of friends. Her eyes and ring were glowing and her spines and dress fluttering despite the lack of wind in the area. She wasn't even noticing them, as she slowly strode towards the Master Emeralds altar.
Tails and Cream flew in shortly after, visibly out of breath, followed closely by Amy, who collapsed to her knees the moment she had caught up with them.
"She just suddenly ran off,'' she huffed. "One moment, she was perfectly normal and then the next, she stopped and her eyes started getting all glowy and she grew wings and .."
She stopped when he noticed what was happening to the Master Emerald. A small 'what the' formed on her lips, though the words never left her mouth. Violett made it only to the first step, before Knuckles had placed himself in front of her, arms crossed and, from what the others could make out, very angry.
"What are you doing to the Master Emerald?" he demanded.
Violett didn't answer. She wasn't even looking at him. Her gaze was fixed on the shards that laid behind him. He got even angrier, but before he could say anything, Violett jumped over him. It was a movement so graceful and effortless and unexpected that it left Knuckles stunned for a moment. Then he caught himself and whirled around, grabbing the purple hedgehog by the shoulder and forcefully turning her towards him.
"Don't ignore me!" Knuckles yelled again.
Whether it was the contact or the words, it seemed to have an effect. Violett's hair and dress stopped fluttering and her eyes stopped glowing. However, so did the Master Emerald shards. Violett's eyes came back into focus and immediately narrowed in on Knuckles.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"I'm Knuckles, guardian of the Master Emerald. You are Violett?"
The hedgehog in question gave a slight nod, but her eyes almost immediately returned to the top of the shrine.
"That is the Master Emerald?"
"What's left of it. What were you doing to it?"
"Is it magical?" .
"Of course it is, now answer my question!"
"Master Emerald …" she mumbled. "I've never heard of such an artifact. Yet, it seems somehow …", her eyes started glowing again "... familiar."
Being downright pissed now, Knuckles grabbed her by one of her spines and hurled her down the few steps to the altar she had managed to take. Once more, her eyes stopped glowing, just in time to twist and land on her feet. When she looked up at Knuckles, nothing visible about her had changed, yet the temperature around her seemed to have dropped.
"I don't appreciate being thrown around,'' she said, perhaps just a little too calmly.
"Well I don't appreciate the Master Emerald being tampered with", Knuckles retorted.
There was a bit of silence in which hedgehog and echidna were staring each other down and for a moment it seemed as if a fight was about to commence. That moment ended when Violett's attention was grabbed by Cream and Cheese, who were tugging on her sleeve.
"Please don't fight with Mr. Knuckles", she said. "He's our friend."
"He's just a bit rough around the edges" Sonic said, lazily putting a hand on the echidnas shoulder.
"A hothead, if you will,'' Rouge joined in, putting her hand on Knuckles other shoulder.
"And an idiot to boot", Sonic snickered, earning an offended 'HEY' by the echidna in question.
"I don't care what he is", Violett answered coldly, while her eyes began to glow again. "He's in my way. Move!"
"You little ...", Knuckles started, but Sonic stopped him.
"We should see what she's up to,'' he whispered to the enraged echidna.
"WHAT? Are you crazy? You only met this woman today, how could you possibly trust her with the Master Emerald? That's it, you've officially lost all your marbles. Probably landed on your head one time too many."
"I think he's right, though", Rouge thought out loud.
"Not you too", Knuckles groaned. "You can at least fly, so you should not have landed on your head often enough to …"
"Shut up and listen!" Her words were accentuated by a punch on the head. "You kept asking her what she is doing to the Master Emerald, but it looks like it could be doing things to her."
The three of them looked up to the top of the shrine, where they could see a glow. Knuckles turned back to the female hedgehog at the bottom of the stairs, whose clothes and spines were fluttering about again. Begrudgingly, Knuckles hopped off, followed by Sonic, while Rouge jumped down the other side, freeing the way for the Master Emerald and hedgehog magician to finally interact.
Slowly, but with a presence and certainty that was downright intimidating, Violett walked up the stairs to the top of the altar. The closer she got the Emerald shards, the brighter they shined. When she reached the top of the stairs, Knuckles collapsed to his knees, hugging himself tightly and breathing heavily.
"What's wrong?" Sonic asked, kneeling down beside him.
"The Emerald", Knuckles panted, "I've never felt it like this."
Violett too, got on her knees in front of the Emerald shards. All it took was one small touch for it to react. First, Violett's pupils and irises disappeared, leaving her eyes completely white. In response, the Emerald shined brighter. Small ropes of light emerged from it, dancing around Violett, seemingly lifting her up until her toes barely scraped the ground. Yet, the touch from that light was tender, as if they were greeting an old friend, though steadily getting brighter. Finally, the Emerald shone so bright that all onlookers had to look away as to not get blinded.
Seconds later, the light subsided. Slowly but surely, one after another opened their eyes. On top of the altar, they could still see Violett hanging just above the floor, eyes closed and lips slightly apart. The ropes of light were slowly retreating back into the now whole Master Emerald, which was still faintly glowing. Then, the ropes were all gone. And as if a switch had been turned, Knuckles and Violett collapsed.
Immediately, Tails and Cream rushed to Violett's side, while Amy and Rouge joined Sonic's attempt to help Knuckles back on his feet. None of the two had completely fainted, but both were seriously weak and severely disoriented.
"What just happened?" Sonic asked, struggling to keep Knuckles on his feet, something that was easier said than done when he seemed to think the ground was the sky.
"It appears the Master Emerald is whole again,'' Cream answered from the top of the shrine.
Violett recovered slightly faster than Knuckles, managing to stand with aid, although her glossy eyes betrayed that she was still barely conscious.
"Wait a minute,'' Amy thought out loud. "If the Master Emerald is whole again, shouldn't that mean that Angel Island should be lifted back up into the sky?"
Everybody who was not disoriented looked at Amy as if she had just prophesied the apocalypse.
"Uh oh,'' said Sonic.
As if on cue, the ground started to shake violently, causing all six animas to fall.
"Hold on to something!' Sonic cried.
He himself was holding on to the edge of the stairs, with one arm tightly secured around his red friend. Rouge followed his example while Amy slammed her hammer deep enough into the ground for it to stick and hung on to that. Tails and Cream had a harder time finding something to hold on to and nearly rolled off the altar as the ground shook more and more violently. They only managed when Tails basically threw Violett over the edge of the altar, where Amy caught her. Then, Cream grabbed Tails and followed suit, hanging on to Amy and her hammer for dear life when the shaking was at its worst.
The shaking became weaker as the Island slowly lifted off the ground, and stopped when it was entirely afloat. Everybody sans Violett and Knuckles exhaled deeply and allowed themselves to relax. Moments later, everybody was laying in the grass, recovering from the miniature earthquake. The two who had been affected by the Master Emeralds recovery were still not quite back, as was evident in Knuckles constantly falling over when put upright and Violett's glossy stares into the void. Slowly but surely, as Angel Island rose, they were both getting better and while Knuckles was constantly stumbling over his own tongue in attempts to speak, Violett finally seemed to start thinking again.
"What happened?" she asked.
Sonic, Tails, Amy, Rouge and Cream shot her wide smiles and even Knuckles gave her a very lopsided grin.
"You just put Angel Island back where it belongs!"
"Where it belongs?"
"You know, there's a reason why the Island has its name" Sonic explained, "After all, it's supposed to be a small patch of earth, divided from the rest of the planet. A place that only Angels can reach."
He grinned and pointed his index fingers upwards. "The sky."
It took a moment, but once his words registered, Violetts eyes got wide.
"This Island has been in the sky for millennia The power of the Master Emerald keeps it afloat. It's a safety mechanism, to hide itself from the people who would abuse it, and to protect its guardian from the poisonous influences of the outside world. But if, for whatever reason, the power of the Master Emerald leaves the Island, be it because it was taken away or because it shattered, the Island will fall from the sky until the Master Emeralds power returns."
Violett didn't answer, opting to continue dangling her legs over the Island's edge instead. Her gaze was locked to the ground far below, perfectly neutral as always. Her silence alone gave away that she was thinking. What exactly she was thinking about, however, was a mystery to everyone involved. Although perhaps, if Knuckles had not been an echidna of very little brain, he could have guessed that her thoughts revolved around the Emerald, the incident with it and of possible ways on how to find out what had happened.
"Qualified assistance …", Violett muttered, a thought beginning to run wild in her head.
"Were you listening?" the echidna barked at her.
"Yes", Violett answered.
So she said, although her neverending stare at the planet below made Knuckles doubt it.
The last few hours had been spent in relative confusion. It had taken a while for Knuckles and Violett to come back to themselves. After they had, Violett had tried multiple times to approach the Master Emerald, in attempts to analyze and understand it. Knuckles, stubborn as he was, had denied her access every time. Before long, Violett had stopped her attempts, allowing everyone to recover from the shock and calm down a bit.
"So what happened between you and the Master Emerald?", Sonic chimed in, "I mean, why was it only putting itself together when you appeared? I would ask what you did, but it almost seemed like it was controlling you."
Violett refused to answer, leaving everyone in a long and heavy silence. It grew ever and ever longer and Knuckles would have exploded, if Rouge had not placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. He turned to yell at her instead, only to swallow whatever he was about to say when he saw the look on her face. It was a mix of confusion, suspicion, doubt and worry and the way her eyes kept darting around told him her mind was racing at a million miles an hour. He looked around, only to see similar looks on the faces of all his friends. Violett was still staring at the planet. Even for someone as aloof as her, that kind of behavior had to be strange.
Suddenly it hit him; Violett had no idea why this had happened either. Which meant she had no clue how to deal with it.
"The Chaos Emeralds are on this planet, aren't they?" she finally asked the group.
Everybody nodded, not even bothering to question at this point, how she would know such a thing.
"Who is their guardian?"
All six animas and a small chao exchanged glances, before Amy answered.
"That would probably be the Master Emerald."
There was another long moment of silence in which Violett continued to look down to the planet in fascination.
"Many years ago", Violett started "my family were the guardians of the Chaos Emeralds and our connection to them never entirely severed. We can feel when they are close by, utilize their strength when in our hands and unleash power that is far greater than the sum of its parts when all seven of them are gathered together. Perhaps that connection is passed on to the Master Emerald."
Knuckles hummed. It was a solid explanation and he was inclined to believe it, considering what he'd seen both Shadow and Sonic do with them in the past. Perhaps he'd be a bit friendlier towards the newcomer if she hadn't just dropped information about the Master Emerald on him that he hadn't previously known. And after the episode with Chaos, Tikal and the ancient echidna tribe, he couldn't help but to start wondering what else there was that he didn't know.
"Sonic can do all that,'' Amy said. "Except for the 'feeling when they are close' part. He can use Chaos Control and become Super Sonic when he has all seven."
Violett was the only one whose eyes didn't slowly widen in realisation. Even Amy herself took a minute to understand what her words were implying. But of course, once again, Knuckles was the only one who was out of the loop.
"What?" he asked into the round. "Why does everyone have a face like they just saw a ghost?"
The question was left unanswered. Having fully recovered, Violett got to her feet and dusted off her dress. It was a movement with so much finality to it that Knuckles forgot what she had actually come here for and almost said his goodbyes.
"Thank you for dinner." Violett made a quick curtsy towards Cream and Cheese. "I must go now."
"Wait!"
A small twitch of the eye was the only thing that gave away Violett's annoyance. Knuckles couldn't blame her. Sonic was a persistent pain in the ass when he wanted something. Knuckles could only imagine how many times she had tried to shake him off already.
"We didn't do what we came here for", Sonic said.
Violett crossed her arms and gave Sonic an expecting, albeit critical look. It was all the confirmation he needed.
"Okay, so everyone's up to date on the intel,'' he said, turning to Rouge and Knuckles. "At this point, Amy and Violett are against us joining, I am for it and Tails, Cream and Cheese haven't made their stance clear yet. So let's vote; who wants to go on an adventure?"
Five hands shot into the air. There was Sonic, of course, as well as Cream and Cheese (why did a Chao's vote even count?), Knuckles and Tails.
Amy grit her teeth angrily and after sharing a quick glance with Sonic, huffed and looked away. Other than that, there was no protest as she respected the majority, a stance Violett clearly did not share.
"Absolutely not!" She said. "You and I are acquaintances at best and you have no say in what I do with my mission. I and I alone decide who may accompany me!"
"I thought we were already friends..."Tails murmured quietly.
Violett hesitated and her face softened a bit. Knuckles and Rouge looked on with interest. Sonic had mentioned that she had managed to lure Tails out of his isolation somehow. Maybe she wasn't as bad as her first impression had made her out to be.
After a small moment of silence, Violett sighed deeply
"You are not wrong" she answered the young fox. "I spoke too rashly."
"I think we voted too rashly", Rouge chimed in. "We all know what we're capable off, so why don't you tell us what your goal is and then we'll decide whether or not we want to help. And if we do, then we'll simply prove to you that we're worthy, oh great magician."
Violett sighed again, but pulled off her ring anyway and held it out her palm. Over it, a mighty diadem appeared, hovering above her open palm. It looked heavy, expensive, and most importantly, otherworldly, not unlike the Sword of Acorns.
"This", Violett started, "is what is generally referred to as a Barrier Key. There are twelve of them in total and the Sword of Acorns is one of them. A very powerful mage is after them and the more she gathers, the more powerful she gets."
"What does she want with them?" Rouge asked.
"Something very dangerous, very desperate and very stupid."
Dangerous, desperate and stupid were a horrifying combination. After all, it had applied to the Metarex and that almost cost all of them their home. Some wounds from that adventure were still too fresh to make Knuckles hungry for another, but he was one of the idiots who lived in this world. He'd rather not have it destroyed by dangerous people doing dangerous, desperate and stupid things anytime soon.
"Can't you give us a little more than this?" Rouge continued. "You're the one we're trying to help here, you know. It wouldn't hurt to make your case a little clearer."
"I never asked for help", Violett retorted, "Sonic is the one who is insistent on all of you coming along. Therefore he is the one you may argue with."
That was exactly what Rouge planned on doing. Her eyes shifted towards him and he cocked an eyebrow in expectation. She earned an exasperated sigh from Sonic for that.
"There's someone trying to misuse the sword of acorns", he began. "That thing is more dangerous than the Metarex ever were. And apparently, there are twelve of them…
He then turned to Violett, "You said you had no choice but to protect those barrier keys. Plus, you didn't exactly sell yourself as the surefire winner back at Amy' place."
Violett's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I'm not. And that won't change, whether you come along or not."
Sonic facepalmed. "Can't you be a little more cooperative? I'm trying to make a point here!"
The air around Violett grew colder. "I don't want you coming along, I don't want your help and I don't want your sympathies", her voice bordered on a hiss. "So give me one single reason why I should cooperate with you!"
Sonic grit his teeth, visibly frustrated. "Because not too long ago,we busted our butts saving the universe, lost two friends in the process and I don't think any of us came out of that the same as they were before." He turned to his friends. "If we don't do something, all of that will go to waste. Are you trying to tell me you're cool with that?"
Rouge couldn't find an answer to that. Neither did Knuckles, or Amy, or anyone else for that matter. Even Violett had to begrudgingly admit that Sonic's argument was solid.
"I guess I have no choice but to join, then", Rouge sighed, though the small, exasperated smile on her face was undeniable. "With all this testosterone around, you'll need some glamour."
Violett shook her head in defeat, before looking at Knuckles. "You may come", she said, momentarily stupefying everyone else.
Nobody had expected Knuckles to be her first choice Then, she walked over to Sonic, put her hand on his head and closed her eyes. His body started to tingle in the strangest way, and he had to fight the urge to shake Violett's hand off. Thankfully, the moment didn't last too long and Violett removed her hand and opened her eyes.
"You may come as well."
Sonic gave a huge grin and punched the air a few times, "Just try and stop me!"
"If Sonic is going, then I am going too!" said Amy.
"You may come." Violett hadn't even bothered looking at her.
She walked over to Rouge, who held up her hand own hand in protest, "What are you doing?"
"Making sure you have what it takes to survive," Violett answered evenly, "
Rouge stared at the hand for a moment, still confused, but ultimately gave in and let Violett do as she pleased. The hedgheog in question put her hand on Rouge's forehead, only to retract it so suddenly, one might think she had burnt herself. Violett frowned and thought for a bit.
"You may come", she finally said.
She repeated the process with Cream, Cheese and Tails and denied all three of them their offer of companionship lest they prove their worth before she departed.
"You must know", the purple hedgehog announced after every teammate had been evaluated, "that I am capable of using the Barrier Keys, but my ability to control them is limited. I can control what dimension we enter and what day we enter it. I am, however, incapable of controlling the exact location and have no way of safely transporting you all through space. Offer me a solution, or stay here."
All heads turned to Tails, who, in turn,stared at the ground, refusing to meet anybody's eye. He could feel Violett's questing gaze on him, but so long as he didn't meet it, he'd have control over his mouth.
"Tomorrow I will retrieve the Sword of Acorns. If you have not provided a solution by then, I will leave without you."
She turned and jumped off the cliff. For a moment, everybody watched in shock, but then a pair of large white wings grew on the magicians back and she soared off into the sunset.
There was a moment of silence.
"Not the most pleasant woman, is she?", Knuckles grunted.
This chapter was difficult. Like, it was really, really freaking difficult. Poor Alysa really needed the patience of an angel to work with me on that one. Am I ever so glad that she had it. It was difficult to write from the get go, but then editing and rewriting was even harder. It was littered in problems, most of them stemming from me trying desperately to find a balance between giving keeping the exposition under control and having the entire thing make any freaking sense. It was soooooo difficult.
BUT! It is now up and approved and leagues better than it was at first. Chapter 4 was easier to write and will hopefully be easier to edit, so the wait for the next chapter shouldn't take as long. It also helps that I'm on summer holidays, so I have more time to work. Chapter 10 is written, chapter 11 is in the works and as always, if you're impatient and want to know what happens next, go check out "Dimensional Travels". You can find it on my fb page.
Thank you to everyone who favorited and followed, a huge thank you to my trusty beta-reader Alysa and another huge thank you to Goku the Carrot, who's been leaving comments on both chapters so far. Please, continue to comment and to all you new-commers, please comment as well. They're a writers life-blood. Constructive criticism is especially welcome, questions will be answered next chapter so long as there are no spoilers and flames will be ignored. Thank you so much for tuning in and I'll see you all next chapter
Preview:
"I am Violett Ocean, of the Hedgehog Empire", the hedgehog in question introduced herself with her usual small curtsy.
Sally's composure vanished immediately. Her eyes went wide, her cheeks flushed an even darker shade of pink and Sonic could actually see her breath hitching in her throat. Then, she did something Sonic, in all of his years of knowing her, had never done before; she lowered her head and curtsied as deep as she possibly could.