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Chapter 17: Can't Cross the Pond (I)

"This one isn't anywhere around here, is it?" Sonic asked from his spot on the couch.

"Hmm?" Jen didn't bother to remove her eyes from her laptop screen.

"New… Neush—what?" Sonic began unsuccessfully. "What kind of word is that?"

Jen turned around in her swivel chair and Sonic rose just enough to hold the magazine he'd been browsing above the couch's backrest.

"…Neuschwanstein," Jen read, struggling a bit to shape the sounds as well. "No, you'd have to cross the ocean for that one," she said.

"Shame," he said. "Think you could hide me inside a plane? I got experience with that."

"We could put you into a pet box."

Sonic raised his index finger then hesitated. "No," he said, pronouncing it carefully.

"But seriously, if you want to see impressive old stuff you could always go to Mexico." Jen regretted it the moment she said it.

"Oh, cool. Show me." Sonic leaped smoothly across the couch, joining her at her desk.

Jen suppressed a sigh. Whenever the weather wasn't downright hostile, Sonic didn't waste a second to get outside. She wasn't sure what he still hoped to find out there—he must've discovered every single Star Post in existence by now—but she knew she had more success asking him to occasionally run the vacuum than to keep him from going out after he set his mind. Now, though, it was on the verge of spring, and she couldn't help but remember the promise she'd made to Allan about kind of 'separating' from Sonic for a while as soon as the weather allowed staying out full-time. And while Allan had gotten a lot less stiff around Sonic, their agreement hadn't changed. Jen knew it was supposed to be temporary (plus, she'd need the time to manage other things like potentially moving house and finding a first real job, anyway), but she still felt as if his trips took away from the time they had 'left' together.

And now Mexico! Why on Earth had she mentioned Mexico of all places? He'd be away for at least two weeks.

Jen pulled up a picture of Tikal, the place that had first crossed her mind, then realized it was located even further south than she thought. Instead of the usual, 'great, how do I get there?', though, Sonic edged closer, brows furrowing. "That's odd," he said.

"What's odd?" Jen asked.

"That looks like something the Echidnas would've built."

"What? This?" They had talked about those 'Echidnas' before, of course, but Star Posts had always been the main topic. "I pictured something more futuristic," Jen said.

"Nah, that's the stuff. Looks a lot like the place I left from, actually," he said, straightening for a moment. Then he leaned in again, apparently reading the text at the side. He could do that somewhat decently by now. "Tikal," he mumbled. "Sounds familiar."

"...Familiar how?" Jen asked.

"I think she was one of them." Sonic thought for a moment. "A guardian or something. Oh, yeah, and she could use the Chaos Emeralds to summon a water monster." He grinned.

Jen shot him a skeptical look.

"Hey—" Sonic shrugged. "Ask the guy who wrote the comic book, not me."

"...I hate you, sometimes."

"Those guys lived on a flying island by the way. Sounds pretty futuristic to me."

Jen gave Sonic a long look. "Why haven't you mentioned this before?" she asked.

"'S just a story." He shrugged.

"You tell me all sorts of wacky stuff. How did you miss out on something like this?"

"Eh, it's kinda boring when there's no mystery left. If there really was a flying island, we'd long have spotted it with planes and satellites and stuff."

"It could've sunk into the sea."

"Yeah, maybe, but they must've had a really huge piece of Chaos crystal to keep the island in the air in the first place, and there are ways to detect those even underwater." He thought for a moment. "It's also the way they keep track of South Island's position in the sea, by the way. It kinda floats around because there's tons of tiny Chaos veins everywhere. They just gotta stop mining them at some point, because the island sinks a bit every year and—"

"You're killing me," Jen said.

"What? I'm serious. The thing floats. It's actually more to the west most of the time but when they discovered it first—"

"—You're killing me because we now need another appointment with the professor we met in January, because he mentioned stuff like magic stones and a flying island, and Allan thought he was an idiot."

Sonic blinked. "Oh. Nice. Okay."

"Yeah, that. Care to give a few more details?"

"Sure. As soon as I'm back." Sonic nodded at the screen. "How do I get there?"

Jen rolled her eyes. "Well, not in those shoes, that's for sure." She gestured towards his pair by the wall.

Sonic grimaced.

"At some point you'll have to take up on my offer, you know."

He crossed his arms, eying his shoes.

"...Or we could have them repaired," Jen suggested.

"No."

"No?"

"I can't be that long without shoes."

"You'll be without shoes either way."

She could see his jaw working.

"They'll make it," he said.

"It's cross country."

"They'll make it."

#

Sonic paused in the crown of a tall jungle tree that gave him a good view into a wide, grassy area surrounded by the tropical forest he was in. At the area's center two well preserved stepped pyramids stood opposite each other, drawing long shades in the afternoon sun. They dwarfed two, more spaciously laid out buildings—or rather, the ruined walls of what once were buildings—towards the edges of the clearing. People dotted the various locations of the area, listening to guides, climbing the ruins, or taking pictures in front of the pyramids. It looked like a pretty relaxed tourist spot and all too similar to many Echidna sites Sonic knew from home. As soon as the people left (and as soon as his frickin' shoes were good to go again…), he'd go and explore.

Sonic used his teeth to tear off a strip of sports tape from a roll Jen had given him and wrapped it around the ball-area of his left shoe where the sole had begun to come loose, then he probed its stability by kicking his toes against the trunk, making a face. He'd better not trip anytime soon…

His shoes looked like crap—there really was no other way to put it. With the tape he'd left the last thing he could 'fix' was the inside of his right heel. But after that he was probably better off getting used to running barefoot. Then, if he ever got back to Jen's that way, he'd probably come to her begging on his knees for a new pair, adding another thing to the list of stuff he'd have no chance of ever paying back.

…Not that a pair of shoes would make much of a difference at this point.

His shoes had been expensive, alright. Like most people back home he had his shoes fitted for him—not just because there was a lot more variation in foot shapes than on Earth, but also because, when you didn't wear much else, shoes were kinda the only piece of clothing that could make you stand out in some way. Plus, in terms of durability, Sonic had a very different demand than the average person. This latest pair had a sole made of some variation of race tire rubber that was the first stuff that even after all his running still looked… well, it wasn't see-through at least. He genuinely hadn't expected them to last this long. If he ever got back, he'd definitely get another pair in that style. Shame Tails wasn't also into chemistry, because otherwise the kid probably would've tried to invent the… eternal sole or something by now.

Sonic took a moment to rub his face, then sighed, staring into the jungle-ly distance.

…The eternal sole, huh?

Right now even the cheapest shoes Jen could find were better than what he was wearing. Only, it wasn't the thing he wanted. He didn't even care for everlasting shoes. What he, in whatever dumb-ass mood, had vowed to himself a couple of weeks ago, was that he'd make it back home before this particular pair that almost had his toe poking out, gave up. A self-imposed ultimatum with no frickin' idea on how to go about. Now, it seemed he was out of time. And he really, really didn't want to stay until the pants he barely wore fell apart.

Somewhere in the middle of his train of thoughts Sonic had begun pacing along the branch he was on. There was nothing he could frickin' do, and he knew it. The stupid state of his shoes would have to stop mattering from this point on. As soon as the weather was good enough, he'd accept whatever help he needed, keep his distance from Jen and Allan (just as they'd agreed on), and then use that time to figure out how to live a life on this planet that didn't involve sneaking and hiding and living off leftovers. If he really had to stay, there had to be a way for him to feel more… free.

In the meantime, though, the gloom would have to take a backseat and make room for the ruins he was about to check out. He hadn't come all the way south to succumb to the nagging of his brain, and there was no reason not to enjoy the cool stuff that this world had to offer while he was here.

…And these ruins were weird. This was probably the most confusing place he'd visited ever since he'd ended up on Earth. Everything around him looked familiar (for real this time), but everything was also off.

When he'd first made the brilliant decision to jump into a running Star Post, it was in a place like this. The people had looked different, sure, but the buildings had been kind of the same… and not. He'd spent half his time on the tree (at least when his brain wasn't rambling at him…) trying to figure out what it was that was wrong about them but had failed so far. Were they more weathered? Differently weathered? Older? Not as old? A different type of stone? Taller maybe, because those guys down there didn't want to hit their heads every time they went through a doorway? Were they sitting in the wrong surroundings?…

It was probably a bit of everything. The temples seemed slightly elongated by comparison, and their stone face was gray-ish instead of yellow-ish. The air was warm and humid—not the dry breeze he'd expect—, and the murals were all wrong. But the weirdest thing was that he thought the place should've felt older. It wasn't as bad as cities trying to imitate the architecture of some historical place, but still plenty confusing.

And there was no Star Post around. That was unexpected. Or rather, it was unexpected that he couldn't shake the feeling that there was one and he just hadn't spotted it yet. It probably stood inside one of the pyramids, but there didn't seem to be a quick way to get inside. Also, for some reason, the entrances seemed to be at the tips of the pyramids, blocked by large grates, and Sonic so far hadn't seen any tourist groups being led in there. If he went through the hassle of breaking in, he was probably just in for another disappointment.

…Also, it'd be pitch-dark in there. Sonic had brought a handful of things with him for a change (a knife with a can opener for instance—super market dumps were a treasure trove when you could read the BBD), but a torch wasn't among them. He would put off checking out the inside of the pyramids until after he had a chance to read all the maps and signposts down there. As soon as the tourists began to retreat.

Even now, and after countless of failed attempts, he couldn't help but feel hopeful whenever he discovered a new Star Post. But he'd be fooling himself if he didn't acknowledge that the feeling had dampened over time. It always went the same way. He'd see some pretty version of his location, text popped up, and the moment he tried to interact, the vision stopped. At some point Allan had asked him to try and trace the letters he saw, and they'd spent half the day at the playground Post trying to piece things together. Then Sonic had spent the other half of the day feeling sick from triggering the Star Post vision so often. He'd never quite figured out why that happened, but it was the first time it had gotten to him since back then.

Naturally, the letters and symbols hadn't told them anything. Only that one of the gauges really had to be something like the 'battery level' of the Post because it had decreased with every attempt, and, as they'd later discovered, also recharged on its own after some time—whatever good that info was for.

#

Sonic had made himself comfortable on the roof of the eastward temple, now watching the sky gradually transform into a deep orange as the sun neared the tip of another, further away pyramid protruding from the jungle's roof. Humid warmth simmered below him, occasionally carried away by a breeze brushing across the trees.

Most of the tourists had retreated during the evening hours, and Sonic had taken the chance to check the place out from up close. As the sun set, though, they slowly trickled back in beneath him, their low voices adding to the general buzz of the jungle. Apparently it was popular to watch the sun set and rise from up here. Plus, as far as he'd gathered from the signposts he'd checked out before, there seemed to be some important date coming up. Other than that, the signs hadn't told him anything useful—or rather, they hadn't told him anything about a Star Post, even though he still felt as if there had to be one nearby. But the inside of the pyramids was supposedly solid, and there didn't seem to be any un-excavated stuff in the area. So either there really was nothing, or he was missing something really important.

One thing he'd figured out, though: the ruins really were younger than their Mobius counterpart, which either meant all of this was a really odd coincidence, or, that at some point, the humans here must've become inspired by Echidna stuff. Sonic had half expected to find traces of some kind of Echidna cult going on, but none of the murals and figurines and such seemed to depict anything but humans. Not much room for conspiracies. The only thing that caught his eye were the glyphs these people had used. They kind of looked like someone had taken Echidna script and painted a pretty picture out of every letter. But he'd probably only gotten the idea because he'd spent so much time deciphering with Allan recently. If there was a connection, it definitely wasn't anything one saw at first glance.

By now the sun had almost disappeared behind the other pyramid, a hot orange glow rising from the horizon. Sonic realized he'd unconsciously shrunken back into the niches of the temple's tip as more people gathered directly below. They weren't really that many—maybe two dozen—but with every newcomer the odds of someone randomly looking in his general direction increased. Being seen didn't really concern him that much—especially not this far out—, but he wanted to stay for a while longer without being the center of attention.

…Then again he was kinda curious about the people's freak-out level this time round. Maybe he'd seek out one of the guides later on.

Some elderly guy in a white robe reached the top tier of the pyramid, leaning on a wooden staff as tall as himself. He chose to stand behind the now sitting tourists, two or three of them curtly greeting him. A breeze ruffled through the man's already windswept hair as he firmly faced the sunset.

The sky dimmed, and near the tip of the far-off pyramid a single, blue-ish star appeared causing Sonic to sit up straight despite the people below.

Now this place was just teasing him.

Back home, he'd never been to a place with such a clean view at Earth than the one he now had at his home. The gleaming planet, slowly on its way towards the spot above the far temple's tip (but apparently not aligning perfectly tonight), even appeared much larger than he thought was possible from this distance. It was still pretty much a pinprick, alright, but its blue stood out among the white light of the few other stars already visible in the darkening sky.

A group of people below were sharing a pair of binoculars, and some woman in rugged clothes had even set up what looked like a small telescope. Sonic itched going down there. He was sure he'd get them to let him take a look through one of those gadgets, maybe tell them a bunch of stories about the spot they were looking at in exchange. But then what? He'd get a look at a slightly bigger pinprick, and afterwards the whole area (and then some) would be on alert for him. Stirring up a whole group didn't seem like the best of ideas—especially not when he had this lingering feeling that, somewhere, this place still held a secret he hadn't discovered yet. This wasn't the only night with such a view. He'd get another chance.

As time passed, Mobius slowly shifted out of sight and more and more stars appeared across the darkening sky. Eventually the moon rose above the trees (being freakishly bright as always), and one of the guides ignited a torchlight to gradually lead groups of people down the steep steps of the pyramid. When he came back for the last group, he had a quick exchange with the old man. The guide gave a brief laugh looking skeptical, but then patted the old man's shoulder and left him up on the pyramid. As the voices of the people dwindled, jungle-buzz filled the air again and a soft breeze washed across the temple, sneaking under Sonic's fur and tugging at old man's robe below. The pyramid felt like a good place for spending the night—and not just because there were way fewer insects up here… Sonic would surely wake up when people came to watch the sunrise. He shifted into a more comfortable position.

Old man turned, staring straight at Sonic. His intense eyes glinted in the light of the rising moon and Sonic felt a shiver down his neck. He paused mid-movement.

The man sunk to one knee, clutching his staff for balance. Then he spoke in a well-practiced voice and a language that sounded like someone had tried to make the local tongue ten times more complicated.

»Welcome, traveler. We have waited for your return. The stone was protected just as you demanded. You may fetch it as you please.«

Sonic blinked, slowly rising from his half-lying position and into a squat, tilting his head. The man's language had sounded vaguely familiar, actually, but Sonic still hadn't understood a thing. Nevertheless old man had obviously addressed him directly. Huh? The guy looked kind of expectant now.

"I, uh," Sonic began, scratching behind his ear. "I'm sorry, I have no idea what you just said." He shrugged a bit helplessly.

Old man rose to his feet again, face twitching in a touch of panic. "Ah… Inglés?" He said. "No Inglés. Nieto speak English. Come." He beckoned. "Come, please."

The man began to take a few hasty steps towards the stairs then turned and beckoned for Sonic again.

…Well. Sonic had wanted to know whether people reacted differently around him here. He just hadn't expected them to be reverent of all things. He slid off the temple's roof and let himself drop to his feet beside the elder, stretching and checking for other people as he stood. They were the only two up here.

Sonic nodded. "Alright, let's go."

A wave of relief seemed to radiate off of the man as he returned the nod. Then he began to descend the stairs on quiet, practiced steps. »So small…,« he muttered in what now appeared to be the local tongue.

They left the temple and headed southward, old guy constantly sneaking glances. Sonic gave his best to pretend he didn't notice. Eventually he had to ask: "So, where're we going?"

Old man badly covered a startle as he turned to face him.

"—Can't say I expected to get picked up like this," Sonic added.

The man paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Sorry," he said. "Speak no good. But nieto. Walk, please."

"S'okay," Sonic said, hands clasped over the top of his head as they entered the jungle on a narrow trail. "You're doing way better than I did when I first arrived here. It's just kinda funny that even though I'm fine with English now, I still manage to run into people I can't talk to, ya know?"

Old man's face was tense with concentration, but he nodded sagely despite probably not understanding a thing. He seemed to be struggling to appear as dignified as possible.

After a while of walking they neared a faint light between the trees. Old man stopped a couple of steps before a small opening in the foliage that lead to a lonely shelter looking to be the source of the light. He tuned to Sonic. "Wait momentito, please," he said, then began heading for the shelter—but not without turning at least three times to check whether Sonic was still there.

Sonic gestured for him to go ahead, then followed to the edge of the opening to get a better look. The shelter wasn't much more than a straw roof with two walls and an insect screen covering the open sides. A black-haired young man, also in a white robe, sat inside cross-legged and had his eyes on some kind of video game in his hands. The faint noise of electronic music hung in the air.

Old man pulled the insect screen aside and gave Nieto a smack on the head with his staff. »What are you doing? I told you to be on patrol.«

»Ow.« Nieto rubbed his head. »What are you doing here so early?«

»We have a visitor,« old man said, puffing his chest.

The younger one raised an eyebrow and stowed his handheld into a leather shoulder bag. »…Okay,« he said, then pushed himself to his feet and let the elder step out of the hut before him. Nieto picked up the camping light that had been illuminating the shelter and followed.

Old man stood tall, firmly grasping his staff. "Come, please," he said, eyes fixed on the spot where he'd left Sonic. Nieto shot him an odd look, reflexively straightening, too.

Sonic stepped out of the opening, lazily shielding his eyes against the lamp's light with one hand. The elder barked in a moment of not so dignified emotion: »Ha! He's blue!«

Nieto crumpled. »He's blue? That's all you're worried about? He's— He's—« He flailed, lamp flickering.

»Talk to him,« the elder said. »English.«

Nieto's mouth worked.

Old man huffed and took a step forward. He pointed with an open palm at the young man beside him. "This, Ian," he said. »Mi nieto.«

Ian cleared his throat, adjusting his shoulder bag as he tried to get into a slightly more dignified stance. "Hello, traveler…," he said with some effort.

"Yeah, hey," Sonic said. "Nice to meet you guys. I'm Sonic." He lifted his hand in a lazy greeting. "Wanna tell me what's going on?"

Ian gaped then quickly caught himself. "You—You wanna know what's going on? I—We—" He earned a stern look from old man and grimaced, struggling a moment to regain his composure. "Alright, alright," he said, squaring his shoulders and clearing his throat for good measure. "We are (well, gramps a lot more than I am, but) we're guardians. Many generations ago our family was entrusted with a sacred stone. We are to keep it safe until the day its owners return from the stars to take it home." He paused, side-eyeing his grandfather who still hid a certain readiness for staff-whacking in his posture. "That's what the story says, anyway—and… what's true apparently (what the hell). Where did you find him, gramps?"

"…A stone?" Sonic frowned. There were some stones worth guarding. No way those guys were talking about the same sort of stone Sonic was thinking about right now.

"That's what you came here for…?" Ian probed.

"Actually, I'm kinda here by accident." Sonic shrugged.

Ian blinked, then exchanged a couple of words with his grandpa whose by now intensely crumpled eyebrows rose in surprise. They discussed some more, forming shapes into the air that seemed to have something to do with Sonic. Then they looked kind of stumped. Ian cleared his throat again.

"Yeah, so, he realized you don't look like the guy even though you kinda look like the guy, so we can't actually give you the stone," Ian gave a half shrug. Then he turned to face his gramps again. »And we really do have a ›sacred stone‹? Or is that just something you keep telling me? Because I think I would've taken this job more seriously if you'd shown me the thing once or twice, you know?« he said.

»You would've just shown it to your delinquent friends from school.« Old man waved a hand. »You weren't ready.«

»But telling me about ancient aliens was supposed to make me ready…?«

Gramps raised a finger. »It is what we have foretold for generations—«

"So, uh," Sonic interrupted, both their heads turning towards him. "What kind of stone are you guys talking about, exactly?"

The first thing that had entered his mind before was 'Chaos Emerald'—some really large piece of cut Chaos crystal, said to have magic powers. But he'd always considered those things to be a myth. Now that even Jen had mentioned the professor guy talking about a flying island and 'magic stones'—here on Earth no less—he wasn't so convinced anymore.

Ian forwarded the question to his grandfather. The old man puckered his lips, then answered and shook his head.

"He says I'm not allowed to tell you about it."

"...'S he gonna know that you told me about it?" Sonic thumbed at old man.

Ian blinked then gradually developed a gap-toothed grin. "Well, technically not, but I don't know where the thing is, either."

"Heh. Okay, how 'bout—," Sonic tapped his lip. "Ask him if it looks something like this." Sonic picked up a twig and drew the diamond-shape of a Chaos Emerald into the earth. "It's probably about the size of a coconut." He cupped his hands.

Old man drew in a breath, eyes widening but quickly catching himself. Ian looked back and forth.

"…Guess that didn't need much asking," Sonic said.

»How does he know about this?« old man asked. Ian translated.

Sonic shrugged. "That's, like, the number one legend where I'm from. I don't think there's anyone who hasn't tried to find one of those at some point. But no-one ever had any success with it." …Which didn't seem like a surprise if the Echidnas had chosen Earth of all places as their hiding spot. "Guess that means you guys are doing a pretty good job," he added anyway.

Ian began relaying Sonic's answer then broke off midway. Old man looked ready to smack him with his staff again.

"Wait," Ian said, narrowing his eyes. "So you leave the thing here yourself and now you start searching for it?"

"Hey, the people who left it here went extinct a couple hundred years ago. No one knows anymore where they put their stuff."

The elder's face grew a deep frown as Ian translated. Then he turned his back to both and sat down on a large stone by the hut, clutching his staff. »I need to think,« he said.

Ian crossed his arms, lamp dangling from his fingers. "Looks like you managed to put him in the best mood and then in the worst mood in years."

Sonic shrugged. "Yeah. Guess the guys you're waiting for aren't gonna show up anytime soon."

"Guess that also means I'm not going to see that stone anytime soon, either," Ian muttered.

They stood in silence for a while, then Ian asked, "You really came from Nan?"

Sonic nodded, absently humming the equivalent of a 'yes'. The whole situation had gotten kind of weird as far as he was concerned. Could those guys really be guarding a Chaos Emerald of all things? Sonic would've made the craziest discovery in centuries—only to then have no chance of telling anyone about it… Maybe that lingering feeling wasn't some hidden Star Post in the area, but really that Emerald…?

"How's it like?" Ian interrupted Sonic's thoughts a second time.

"Mobius? A lot like here, actually. Just with different people."

Ian wagged his head back and forth like someone stuck between processing and understanding—he probably had too many questions pop up at once now. Sonic couldn't blame him.

"…And you just… came here? By 'accident'. How?" he added.

"Heh, funny story, actually. The guys you're waiting for also built some sort of transporter back in the day. It looks like a pole with a ball on top, like so—" Sonic drew the shape of a Star Post into the ground. "One day a portal opened—" He added a dotted circle. "—And I jumped in on a whim. Now I can't get back."

Ian gave Sonic a long, dubious look then turned to check with his grandfather whose eyes had latched onto Sonic's Star Post drawing. They bulged a little.

»Did he come here with this?« old man asked standing up. He tapped his staff at the drawing on the ground.

Ian seemed to hesitate. »Well… yes, but—«

»Yes. This changes everything. Come. I will lead you to the entrance.« The old man took off with new-found determination.

Sonic exchanged a glance with Ian.

»Gramps, wait.«

»No,« the old man called back. »It is all part of the tale. They will return on their flying island or through a pole like this. He is the one.«

»He's the what now?« Ian puffed out some air then shook his head. "Guess we're following."

Phew. This took a while to upload.

There is a reason.

It is about 50 cm and will be taking up 80% of our free time for the next 18 years.

(:

Let's hope the remaining 20% will be enough to finish this :D.