Sonic's body rose from the surge of energy that Miles had willed into him, pressing against his finger. The hedgehog stayed like that for a couple of seconds, then flopped back down onto his back. Nothing.
"No...please," he whined, the streams from his eyes dripping onto his friend's form.
He rubbed his eyes against his arm, then tried again with more vigor. As before, nothing came of it. The third time, he pleaded with the Emerald as he attempted to revive the boy...and his ears caught a sound. A low gurgling came from the kid's chest, followed by a wet retching as his green eyes flew open and he bolted upright to expel quite a bit of water. The fox urged him onto his side to help so it didn't flow back down as easily, patting him gently on the back with one hand while the other, still holding the cyan Emerald, rested against his chest. He bit his lip to stifle his whimpering, though it was harder to blink away the tears.
Once he was sure that the hoglet had gotten every last drop out, he laid the smaller Animal back down and knelt beside him.
"H-hey, Nick," he sniffled, wiping his eyes, "you really scared me there, you know? For a moment, I honestly thought you were a goner."
Sonic offered him a weak smile in return. "I'm sorry, Miles."
Miles swept him up into a hug, resting the kid's chin on his shoulder as he held him close. It felt a little awkward for Sonic, as he rarely received this much affection from anyone else. He didn't fight it, though; he could tell the big guy really needed this. So instead, he just softly returned the embrace.
"I forgive you," the teen whispered, letting him down after a few more moments, "and, I'm sorry for all those times I wasn't cool to you."
"Heh, I never held any of that against you, big guy," Sonic replied just as softly, getting a warm smile from his older buddy.
The hedgehog tried to stand, but found himself unable to without feeling a bit disoriented. Miles called Remi over and handed off the Emerald to it, then hoisted Sonic up. He positioned the boy's legs so that they hugged his sides and his arms were over his shoulders, both of his own arms supporting the other Animal's weight while he was slumped against his back. The kid couldn't help letting out a soft chuckle.
"I feel kinda embarrassed having you carry me like this," he admitted.
The fox grunted and started walking, allowing Remi to help light up the way further beyond what his dark-vision could see.
"It's only natural you'd still feel a bit weak," Miles said glumly, "you did drown, after all."
Sonic shuddered at that. He'd come closer to being claimed by water than any other time he'd fallen in. The hedgehog hadn't been afraid of it before; he'd merely been wary of the fact that he couldn't swim. After today, though, he was going to practice a lot more caution around large bodies, and make sure the big guy or someone else was around, just in case.
As Miles carried him down a brief decline of strangely smooth green beryl, Sonic pondered what to talk about to try and help get his mind off the fact that he'd truly almost died.
"Hey, Miles?" he asked, getting the fox to stop, "this might seem weird to ask now, but, can you tell me more about yourself?"
There was a long pause before the amber vulpine let out a gentle sigh.
"I guess there's no better time, considering the situation," he thought aloud, "alright, I'll try to give you an abridged account of my life growing up, and my first big adventure, but it's still kind of a long story. So help me if you fall asleep!"
Getting a boyish giggle as his only response, Miles cleared his throat.
"Over fifteen years ago, I was born here, on West Side Island," he began.
Sonic tilted his head. "So you're not from Cocoa Island?"
"Not originally, no. But, when I was still just a baby, my parents brought me there. I don't know why, though I suspect it had something to do with the cyan Chaos Emerald. I've had it around as long as I can recall."
As they went on, the two saw that the path appeared more and more as though it had been chiseled and manipulated. Miles hopped up a few high ledges made of some bronze alloy, standing out against the stones and raw minerals. Remi pointed out a platform high above, which the fox chose to fly him and the hedgehog up to. They had fallen quite a ways, so it made sense to try and get to higher ground when possible.
"I don't remember my folks very well," Miles admitted, a touch of longing in his tone, "neither do the other residents on Cocoa Island. They kept to themselves most of the time while raising me, only going into town when they had to. One day, they just...never came home."
Sonic gave him a gentle squeeze around the shoulders as a show of sympathy. The teen was thankful for it, giving him a bit more strength to go on as he drifted higher into the reaches of this cavern they'd found themselves in.
"I'm still not sure whether they abandoned me, or if something else happened to them," Miles continued as they crossed a bridge of jade, "but they left me their little cabin near Poroi Forest and everything in it, including the Chaos Emerald. I was about four years old when I was left to fend for myself, and I wouldn't've managed without my developing keen mind. For a whole year, I didn't wander very far beyond the forest, the beach near my house, or my side of Puru Puru Lake. I taught myself how to better read and write, though speech was a bit more challenging without another person around to talk to. I picked up survival skills and crafting, which you could say was where I first developed my passion for inventing.
"I also made friends with the local colony of Flickies, and in that time, I actually grew to understand them," he said, furrowing his brow as he tried to think of how to explain, "hmm, the way they can communicate isn't really like it is with you and I. It's more that they talk about feelings and ideas of things rather than anything very specific. So, they called me 'Tails', and while I'd tried to get them to say it, there's no 'Miles' in Tweet." Sonic gave him a puzzled look at the last word, to which the fox was glad his cheek fur could hide any blush he had. "That's, um, what I call the 'language' of the Flickies."
"It's cute," the hedgehog commented.
The fox would've rubbed at his neck out of modesty, but he was too busy holding the kid and keeping close to Remi while they kept on ascending.
"Anyway," he resumed, "one day, I met Charmy while he was exploring the woods, with Gad and Giselle acting as his reluctant babysitters. I'd been occasionally sighted by the other townsfolk, and had roused the bee's curiosity enough that he wanted to find me himself."
The two of them dropped down a ledge after giving the fox's tails a moment to rest. From there, they traveled up a brief incline and jumped over a gap to another bridge, which took them to a long hallway that was mostly untouched, save for the eye-like decorations on the natural pillars.
"It was a bit awkward at first," he reminisced, his expression drooping a little before brightening again, "but over time, they helped expand my speech and taught me what they could about society. Charmy became my best friend, mainly because we could both fly, but he had his own insights that opened my eyes on occasion. One important thing he taught me is that sometimes, the simplest and most obvious approach is the best one. Gad and Giselle came to treat me like a kid brother, as I told you before. Being the young and impressionable kit I was, both of them, as well as Charmy, to an extent, rubbed off on me. But my biggest influence, at least when it comes to my love of machines, was the twins' father, Gobán."
A couple more high steps brought them to what appeared to be a tube constructed of well-preserved glass and beryl. Miles was hesitant to go down with Sonic still so wiped out, so he sent Remi on ahead to investigate. Several seconds later, his robot companion flew back up the passage and gave a confident sounding woof.
"Alright, kid, can you do a Rolling Attack with me?" he asked his young charge, who nodded gently against him, "okay, just match my rotation."
The fox took a few steps back from the opening, swiveled Sonic around so that he held the boy against his chest, then sprinted forward. The two of them curled up into a mostly amber sphere with a little blue in there, then slid into the chute. They tilted and turned a few times through the path until they came bursting out of a loose rock wall on the other side, uncurling in front of a significantly larger jewel crossing suspended over more water. Miles readjusted Sonic's position back to what it was before, then reached back to give him a pat on the head. The boy playfully swatted his hand away, which got a soft titter out of them both.
"Back to the story," the teen segued, "Gobán is the owner of the junkyard in Puru Puru Village, and for a while, he was also the only full-fledged mechanic on the island. He loved messing around with all that scrap, and he was already happy that both of his kids wanted to follow in his footsteps. But, when he saw how quickly I gained proficiency, just from shadowing him, I was taken on as an apprentice." Miles allowed himself to sport a fond smile. "He fed my ravenous curiosity and encouraged my experimental tinkering, although he did put his foot down when it got a bit too risky. He and his mate, Guendolen, basically treated me like I was another one of their pups...which became a reality on my tenth birthday."
As they went up a third set of giant steps and bounded up an incline, Sonic took the time to process that. Just as they squeezed through a narrow gap in a rock wall and happened upon a second tube, the hoglet made a sound of understanding.
"You mean, they adopted you?" he asked, getting a nod from the vulpine, "cool, then Gadget and Gizmo really are your siblings!"
Miles blinked and tilted his head around to try and look at the boy. "Come again?"
"They're nicknames I came up with for Gad and Giselle," Sonic explained, "since they like to build gadgets and gizmos just like you. Can't really think of anything better!"
The fox rolled them around on his tongue and seemed genuinely impressed by how fitting, yet simple they were. He'd object that Gizmo was more appropriate for a boy, but he knew that Giselle wouldn't mind. She was a bit of a wrench wench in the way she acted sometimes...her own words, not his.
"Huh, that's pretty good, Sonic. I'm sure they'll love them," he told the hedgehog kindly, "but, yeah, Gob and Guen, as I call my adoptive folks, made me part of the Wolf family. They even added on to my name, just to make me feel more welcome."
Sonic grinned a bit. "Oh yeah? So what's your full name then, big guy?"
"Miles Gebhard Prower," the fox proudly said as he puffed out his chest, "my middle name means something like 'brave gift', I believe is what they said."
The two once again Rolled to get through the passage before them, traveling an inverted horseshoe curve and coming out the other end by steep decline that led to a jade loop. They shot down the slope and followed the bend to an upward curve, the momentum carrying them up a ways. Miles used his tails to slowly hover down as Remi directed him into another tunnel, this one descending more of the same sorts of stairs they'd been finding here. Another stretch of water awaited them, though there were lily pad-like platforms conveniently making a way to pass for those that couldn't fly. Deciding to give his twin appendages a break, Miles skipped to each floating disc as Remi lit the way, coming to a solid beryl landing in the middle of the small lake.
"That's neat," Sonic said, his face scrunching up as he thought of another question. A moment went by and a slightly uncomfortable expression adorned his face. "Um, I noticed when you first got here, you hid your tails from the townsfolk and all. Was anyone mean to you because of 'em?"
The teen shrugged. "Most people thought they were weird, though few of them actually gave me grief. It was rare they'd catch me alone, but never fun when they did. Thankfully, after a while, a lot of the villagers came around to seeing me as just another member of the community, if a bit of an eccentric one."
"What about that band you guys had?" Sonic asked him, wishing to move on to a happier subject, "any pictures from when you were still playing?"
Miles set his partner down for the time being and sat back on his hands and feet. Remi strolled up beside him, getting a light pat on the head before the fox retrieved the Miles Electric from storage. The Emerald Radar was experiencing a lot of static that remained, regardless of how many settings he messed with. He tried the communications, only to have similar luck. Lastly, he accessed the internal storage, relieved to discover that at least that worked. The fox flipped through a few folders until he found what he was looking for, scooting over and sitting next to Sonic.
"We started out just after my tenth birthday," he replied, tilting the screen down for the kid, "each of us had at least a little experience with our respective instruments, but we got way better after we started playing together."
Sonic smiled as he saw a younger Miles in the picture, probably barely bigger than himself, and lacking the tawny brown markings he now had. The fox was holding a Flying V style guitar with a head in the shape and colors of his two tails, an amber and white neck, and seven strings, with the extra being on the lower end of the scale. To his left (Sonic's right) was a teenage Giselle (or should he say Gizmo), who was dressed in the same sorts of colors that she had now, but sporting more punkish clothing than her current getup. She also appeared to be a lefty when it came to bass, with her royal purple and silvery gray instrument having a massive twelve strings instead of four, which were arranged in six pairs, rather than the more typical four sets of three. Behind her and to her left stood Gad(get), his fur shorter and a little scruffier, while his glasses were a bit larger and, in the hedgehog's opinion, kind of dorky compared to his current set of specs. He had one heck of a two-tier setup when it came to a synth and keyboard combo, though, both decked out with more buttons, knobs, and sliders than the hedgehog could think to do with. And to the red wolf's right was Charmy, who...wasn't really that different from the guy Sonic met in Casino Night, aside from his size. He had a full professional drum set, one that he seemed all too ready to thrash on, given the grin he had in the photo.
"Wow, you guys look pretty rockin'," the hoglet remarked, "what did you call yourselves?"
Miles chuckled softly. "We thought about it a lot, but we never came up with anything concrete. People around the village called us 'Miles and Friends' after several little gigs, so we just went with that."
"I guess that works," Sonic said, a little underwhelmed, "how long did you guys stay together?"
"A little over a year and a half. That was when Charmy left for greener pastures, so to speak."
"And then you said the Kukkus attacked not long after that."
The fox let his hands fall gently to his lap, quietly shutting off the Miles Electric. Sensing its maker's distress, Remi padded up beside him and rubbed into one of his legs in a comforting manner with its head. Miles allowed himself a somber smile as he reached down to pet his companion and stroke under its chin.
"It happened a few months before my twelfth birthday," he recalled, "I'd just finished Remi's first body, intending to have him help my siblings and I explore the more treacherous parts of the island. While I was taking a midday nap, the Empire sent out an advance force to strike Puru Puru Village and burn Poroi Forest while they searched in other spots for the Chaos Emeralds."
For the first time, Sonic saw real horror in Miles' eyes. Not the sort that one showed because they expected something terrible, but the kind that made it evident he had already witnessed something awful. The fox's hands trembled and dropped his multitool, and his breathing became uneven. It was chilling for the hoglet, made even worse by their surroundings being so dark and quiet.
"I still hear the Flickies in my nightmares," Miles confessed, hugging his knees and curling his two tails closely around himself, "I'd known many for most of my life, and a lot of them had known me for all of theirs. 'Help, Tails! Bad birds hurt family! Bad birds hurt home!' I remember those heart wrenching cries as some were shot down or torched alive!" The fox trembled and hid his face. "I saw the...remains of the guys that had bullied me. I'd always wanted them to get some kind of comeuppance, but not like that! And they weren't the only ones that I failed to save. Innocent Animals and Critters died because I wasn't good enough..."
Remi whimpered and nudged at its maker, trying to calm him down.
'I know you said lives were lost, but,' Sonic thought, a worried look forming in his face as Miles started sniffling again, 'I didn't know it hit you this hard. No wonder you were upset or mushy most times I got hurt or had a close call.'
The hedgehog pulled himself to his hands and knees, then hugged the fox from the side as best he could. The teen's breathing was still shaky, but he'd at least stopped his tears after feeling the smaller Animal embrace him.
"Deep breaths, big guy," he told his partner. After a few moments, Miles took his advice, and soon, he slowly uncovered his face and revealed his reddened eyes. "Look, I know the cool stuff shows heroes as unstoppable and all that. Much as I love it, though, I know that in the real world, you can't save everyone. It stinks that even your best isn't enough sometimes, but that's just how it is. All you can really do is keep moving forward." He gave the fox a few pats on the back. "I can't imagine how much it hurts, but...I'm here for you, okay?"
Miles slowly unfurled his tails and held out a hand to the hedgehog, which the boy squeezed reassuringly with both of his own.
"Thanks," he murmured, blinking away some moisture as he looked down at the hoglet, "how the heck are you so wise and empathetic for your age, anyway? Seriously, it's a little unsettling...but greatly appreciated."
Sonic laughed. "Well, you pick up a lot when you mingle with different folks in different places. I had to grow up pretty fast, too." A wistful smile briefly crossed the speedster's peachy muzzle. "I'm not from around here either, actually. I'm from Christmas Island."
"Huh, that's a good way away," Miles uttered, his mind pulled away from his traumatic memories for the moment, "how long have you been here?"
"A few years. It's nice and all, but I've been thinking of moving on."
"Hence why you were building the Tornado," Miles concluded, earning a knowing smirk from his friend.
"Yep. Are you gonna be okay?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," the fox replied, slowly getting to his feet, "let's move on."
Although the cobalt kid was fine enough to get by on his own by this point, he still let the vulpine carry him as they crossed the rest of the water. An upward turn pointed them to a high platform, and then a bridge even further up. They ascended past it, followed the steps just beyond it, and came to a long and straight walkway composed of emeralds. Stone columns flanked the pair on each side as they walked, eventually coming to a huge structure that Remi's eyes could only light a fraction of. In front of it was a dais with a square panel that bore a long, rectangular engraving. It was the perfect shape for...
Miles reached into Remi's storage and brought out the cyan Emerald, glancing between it and the slot. After a few seconds of deliberating, he placed it in, and the dais suddenly lit up with light that matched the gem. And as though a giant light switch had been flipped, the whole cavern was flooded with light, allowing them to see the full scale of their environment for the first time.
Most of their attention was taken by the great marble structure in front of them, however. It was a great palatial building with columns like those seen in the Aquatic Ruins, only this was far better preserved. There were statues of bat Animals, primarily, some clearly great warriors, while others were depicted more diplomatically. An enormous set of stairs led into what was likely the main atrium or courtyard, the stone doors that once stood tall having crumbled away enough for them to squeeze through.
The fox removed his stone, pleased to see that doing so didn't deactivate the power. They made their way over to the ancient palace, and once inside, they shuffled through a long hallway into what appeared to be the throne room. They were surprised to find that there was little else aside from a passage further in the back, a ruined throne, and a pedestal in the center. When they strode up to the latter, though, Miles couldn't help but let out a gasp at what he found. There, in the middle of seven holes like the one from before, was a gem identical to his own, save for being translucent like a diamond.
"The white Chaos Emerald!" Sonic exclaimed, picking it up without much thought, "we found the last one!"
A rumbling followed his action, with the two boys afraid that they'd triggered some sort of trap. But instead, the walls of the chamber shifted, uncovering murals and symbols that hadn't been there before. One of them depicted a group of Echidnas around what had to be all seven of the gems, each of the Animals bowed in prayer. The next showed their flourishing civilization, with plentiful food, water, wealth, and expansion of their lands. There was trade with the big cats and other early Animal peoples of the Emerald Archipelago, and scientific innovations in what was thought a relatively primitive culture that astounded even the teenage genius.
The following pictures weren't so pretty. Mounting tensions between the Echidnas and their now-seeming former allies, which escalated into unrest. Violence and death brought about by conflict and attrition were shown, with the leaders of the monotremes considering using the Emeralds to bolster their war efforts. The next image was of a destroyed city, the wreckage engulfed by both fire and water as the silhouette of an island was outlined against the sky. The final one in the sequence showed that same island broken up, crashing back down into the sea as a colossal egg nearly the size of the landmass itself was beginning to hatch, the skies around it dark and filled with lightning.
"Big guy?" Sonic murmured just loud enough to hear, "what is all this?"
Miles went over to the slabs and held up a hand.
"Judging from the images, it's the history of the last Great Civilization, and how the Chaos Emeralds led them to prosperity, but also destruction," he breathed out, bowing his head solemnly to the departed, "it's unfortunate that the Echidnas ultimately went extinct." He traced his fingers over the last two murals. "Hmm, these seem to depict the legendary Floating Island."
The hedgehog's eyes shone with recognition. "Now there's a story I haven't heard in a while. That's the one with the 'Dragon's Egg', or something like that, right?"
"Yeah, that's correct," the fox confirmed, peering over at the final entry, "that must be what this picture here is trying to convey." He put on a bit of a dark tone as he recited what he'd read about the old tale. "'The Egg shall fall from the heavens, bringing ruin to the Floating Island. And when the Dragon of Chaos hatches, the world will end.'"
"You know, with all the stuff I thought was just myths and fairy tales turning out to be true," Sonic commented uneasily, "I hope that one really is just a story."
"I'm with you there," Miles agreed, suppressing the urge to shiver.
The pair of them made their way to the passage at the back of the throne room. There, they found a tunnel that was just wide enough for the two of them, although it seemed to go on for quite a ways.
"So, at the start of my first tussle with the Empire," Miles said as they began their trek, wanting to get back to his tale, "all I had was Remi and a supply of bombs that I normally used to get at metal ore. But, they were my only real weapons against their forces, and thanks to my knowledge of the forest, I was able to strategically strike back at them, as well as gather up some of their wrecked machines' parts for my own purposes. I also found the red Chaos Emerald on the way to Padon Tunnel, which is an underground volcanic passage north of the village and east of Poroi Forest. It's there I got my trusty Pikkon Hammer, which I'm convinced has some form of magical properties, given how strong and durable it is for its size, not to mention how it looks and feels like a toy. I still wonder where it could've come from.
"Anyway," he excused himself, getting back on track, "I came across the green Emerald at the end of the Tunnel, where I emerged at the foot of Mt. Pori Pori. After contending with more Kukkus on the way up, I came to the final ascent, where I discovered both the magenta Emerald and Speedy, who'd beaten me to it."
Sonic grinned and skipped ahead a little bit as he whistled a tune that the fox thought was vaguely familiar. "The first meeting of destined rivals!"
"Heh, sure," Miles chuckled at the enthusiasm on display, fiddling with the white Emerald and getting a feel for its signature, "it was more of a test of survival than a proper battle. Speedy believed he could end me before we reached the peak, and I proved him wrong. I'm not really sure why he decided to give me the Emerald, but he did, then flew off back to base.
"After I returned, I found out Gad and Giselle had managed to get quite a few people into Gob's bunker for safety. Thank goodness he'd always been a little paranoid in case something like an invasion happened. We used the Kukku tech I gathered to build the Sea Fox mode for Remi, which I used to traverse the Rocky Sea and head to Brocco Island, one of the two islets near Cocoa Island. I didn't find a Chaos Emerald, but I did find a combatant piloting the Mecha Golem Mark V there."
Sonic kicked at a few loose stones on the way, wondering how long the passage went on. "So, an earlier version of that thing we fought?"
"Much smaller and less impressive," the fox remarked, "but after beating it, its parts worked well enough to help improve the Sea Fox. I put those upgrades to the test against a Kukku Cruiser that tried to sink me, showed them what for, and continued on to Guririn Island. There, I managed to sneak by a base camp the Empire had set up in the jungle, nabbed this guy..." He paused to briefly call attention to the white Emerald. "...And then got out before anyone knew I'd been around."
Just as he was about to go on, Miles detected a change in the scents wafting through the air. The humid odor of mildew was slowly giving way to salt, and something much more crude. A second deep whiff confirmed what he'd been suspecting: oil. With renewed vigor, the fox sprinted towards the source of the pungent mixture, his robot and the hedgehog just behind him. After a couple of minutes of steady jogging, the Animals finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
When they reached it, they discovered that it was now the middle of sunset, the skies filled with powerful shades of orange that faded into white near the horizon. The opening led out onto a cliff path that pointed them in an interesting direction. There were tall and thin factory towers and other structures standing above the ocean, which was being fed copious amounts of oil by slides and funnels. The access ways around these buildings were more attractive than what was expected in such an industrial setting. Thin purple walkways adorned with gold piping, handrails, and green frameworks, some adorned with poles that had decorative spheres, or flashing lights, seemed to be the main means of getting around the place.
Even further out, the telltale skyline of a major city could be seen, as could the dull orange of buildings that were aflame, and the billowing clouds of smoke rising into the air.
"That's Metropolis in the distance!" Sonic exclaimed, hope building in his voice, "and this is the Oil Ocean Refinery in front of us! We made it out to the other side of the mountains!"
Miles wasn't quite ready to celebrate just yet. He grabbed his multitool from Remi's panel and booted up the communication app first. When that showed that all signs were green, he switched to the Emerald Radar. Two signals were coming from them, while the other five were all bunched together northwest of their position. It seemed like everything was working again.
"I suppose that cavern we fell into caused interference due to the geology?" he theorized, "but then, why could I detect the white Emerald before we ended up there? Speedy wasn't able to with his scanner. Then again, he couldn't pick them up while Remi had them stowed away..."
Sonic held up a fist to the fox. "Does it matter? We know where they all are now!"
Miles regarded him for a moment, gazed down at the glove, then laughed and bumped his own against it.
"You're right, Sonic," he conceded, "our path is clear."
They would have been ready to move on, but Miles didn't want to leave his buddy on a cliffhanger.
"You want me to finish the story?" he asked the hedgehog, who nodded eagerly, "alright, bear with me a little while longer.
"There were a couple places left for me to search, which was the cave west of Mt. Pori Pori and up the river from Puru Puru Lake, and Karon Forest, which had miraculously escaped heavy fire damage. I first went for the latter, where I ended up finding the blue Emerald. The mountain cave wasn't so bountiful. Some scrawlings left behind by people from long ago, however, did point me to a place where the yellow gem could be: a hidden passage in Padon Tunnel. Thanks to the improved explosives afforded to me by 'borrowing' Kukku weaponry, I uncovered this long-lost alternate route through the place.
"At the end of it, I found a more defunct Mecha Golem," he revealed, "it couldn't even move, but it still had guns and bombs, and its armor was nearly impervious. You can bet I made good use of all that after taking it down. With nowhere else left to go after that, I approached the Kukku stronghold, which they'd disguised as an inconspicuous green islet on the ocean's surface; 'Kukku Island', you could say. I plunged into the depths, fighting elite soldiers and wrecking their defenses, before I ended up in Dr. Fukurokov's lab, where he had a trap waiting for me. To be more precise, it was an entire room meant to kill me, with lasers, moving floors, and electrified spikes! There was no way for me to fly out, and no visible means of escape; it almost seemed hopeless."
Miles took a gander at Sonic, who appeared to be quite invested in the story now. He smirked and lifted Remi up, nuzzling him between the ears and getting a happy woof for his trouble.
"This little wonder saved me," he told the hedgehog proudly as he rubbed the robot's chin, "Remi found a vent that connected to the main lab from the death chamber, one just big enough for him. He may not have any direct weapons in Critter mode, but thankfully, the doc had a lot of clutter in his workspace. It was pretty easy for my helper here to find something to push over onto his head and make him see stars for a while."
The two boys had a good laugh at that. The image of the old owl conked out was rather amusing, and the fox especially still thought so after all these years.
"After he undid the locks and got me out of there, I helped myself to some of the doc's items. And wouldn't you know it? He had the final Emerald in his lab," the fox continued, his expression darkening, "but, I also found these horrible machines that he'd been using to warp the minds of bird Animals and bring them over to the Empire's cause. 'Conversion Therapy' was the label he used." He clenched a fist tightly. "After dismantling them, I took the Emerald and retreated back to the mainland. At that point, the Great Battle Kukku was done playing. He unveiled the Battle Fortress, and he was ready to raze the rest of the island if I didn't stop him.
"One final upgrade to the Sea Fox made it capable of flight," he proclaimed, "and once I made sure I had everything, save for the cyan Emerald–"
"Which you left behind," the hoglet supplied.
"I began my final assault," Miles carried on without skipping a beat, "en route, I weaved through their air force and knocked out a good number of their cannon batteries. Once aboard, I hacked their systems, sabotaged their Robo Kukku production, sent their highest level combatants running, and directed all the captured villagers aboard to lifeboats and escape vessels. I made it to the bridge, where I had my second showdown with Speedy, who was sporting an exosuit. Not like the one you saw earlier; this was a prototype, but he still put up a serious fight. Speedy is better in open spaces, though, while I excel in more intimate quarters. With his movement limited, and the power of six Chaos Emeralds backing me, it didn't take too long to gain the upper hand and come out on top.
"His armor was shorting out after all the damage I caused, and it would've exploded with Speedy still wearing it..."
The fox stopped. Even though he still believed what he'd done had been the right action, he still wondered how events would've turned out otherwise. Even more, he pondered how his life would be if he hadn't been so merciful to the Empire. Would they have collapsed and faded into obscurity, or would the remnants have still sought him out for vengeance? Maybe less people would be getting hurt, but then again, perhaps another antagonistic force would have taken their place.
"I did my hardest not to kill, or let anyone die, when I could help it. Gob and Guen taught me that even the worst people deserve a second chance," he uttered softly, "so, I gave Speedy that same courtesy." He turned his eyes down to Sonic, meeting his own emerald green gaze. The kid saw a lot of uncertainty in those cyan-blue spheres. "Was I wrong to spare him? I mean, given everything that's happened..."
The hedgehog frowned as he thought about it. Forgiveness and second chances being offered to even the ugliest sorts was never an easy discussion. He was firmly on the side of the fox's adoptive parents, but he could understand where people on the other end came from better than they often assumed. Their point of view did win out sometimes, and maybe things turned out better in the long run. Yet, the spiny lad was sure that he wouldn't be able to live with blood on his hands, and to imagine the big guy doing so disturbed him.
Yeah, he wasn't the chillest Animal, and he could be kind of scary when he got mad. But, moments like the one they shared back down in that cave showed Sonic that, on the inside, Miles was a very kind and caring soul. While he had noticed some cracks in the fox's shell prior to his near-death experience, that whole ordeal was just like taking a hammer to it, he liked to imagine. The teen had dived into what they'd assumed to be a bottomless pit to save him, after all. Absolutely insane, but totally something a big-hearted hero would do.
And if he could so readily do that for someone he'd only met a few days ago...what if he did kill? The worst thing about that, Sonic had heard, was that it became easier with every following instance. If Miles took the lives of his enemies instead of sparing them, he wouldn't be the same fox that the boy had grown fond of. He didn't want to think about that.
"No," Sonic answered gently, "I think he just doesn't know what to do."
Miles hummed contemplatively. "Speedy's always respected his father, though a lot of that respect comes from fear, rather than love or admiration. It's the same for everyone under Fifteenth's command. He's afraid of what will happen if he ever abandons his 'destiny', and honestly, I can't entirely blame him. Unless his father's taken into custody or otherwise kept away, there's no way he'd sit on his tail-feathers if Speedy decided to cut and run. And trust me, he wouldn't be any more hesitant to use extreme measures against his son than anyone else that incurs his wrath."
"Even brainwashing his own kid?" the hedgehog inquired bitterly, bringing up the contraptions that had been mentioned before.
The fox frowned deeply. "It...wouldn't surprise me."
They were quiet for a short while, musing on what the GBK could and would do if Speedy went rogue. Miles decided to cut those thoughts short before they went places that he'd rather not consider.
"On the subject of the Great Battle Kukku, he was unlike anyone I've faced. He didn't need a suit to be able to take a beating and dish one right back. As if that wasn't enough, he had this weird ability that let him manifest bombs out of thin air. Even with the six Emeralds, I struggled against him, though they kept me in the fight.
"I eventually knocked him out," Miles said, swinging a fist at the air, "and overrode the main controls of the Battle Fortress to force it into a sea-bound crash landing. Naturally, I gave myself and everyone else plenty of time to escape. When I got back to Cocoa Island, I saw that while the remaining people and Critters were happy that the Kukkus were beaten, they'd lost so much. I wanted our home to be how it was before, as did all the others. The Emeralds heeded our collective wish, restoring everything that had been wrecked and destroyed. They then scattered to parts unknown. After things calmed down and we went about business as usual for a while–as best we could anyway–I got the urge to explore beyond my modest abode. The chance to see what sort of technology I could find and study, as well as expand my knowledge in other areas of interest, was just too good to pass up! And who knew what other sorts of villains were around besides the Empire? Maybe I'd also meet others like me, I thought.
"So," he concluded, "I've been globetrotting with Remi since I turned twelve, going back to Cocoa Island for a few days out of each month to check up on things and keep myself from getting homesick."
Sonic nodded raptly. "Mm, and you've had the Emerald with you all that time, too?"
"Yeah," Miles affirmed, "I figured out, at some point, that I've turned out the way I have due to almost constantly keeping it close by. Each day, I wake up just a tiny bit faster and stronger, presumably from passively absorbing trace amounts of Chaos Energy. Extrapolate that over the course of more than a decade, and even miniscule gains would add up to something beyond the typical upper limits of any Animal. That's before factoring in regular exercise and a proper diet, by the way."
The hedgehog glanced up at him with realization. "And the head honcho still gave you that much trouble, huh?"
"Yeah, the GBK was scarily powerful," the older guy replied, "but I was also younger, smaller, and not as experienced as I am now. It won't be the same the next time we face off!"
Smirking at his partner's conviction, the younger boy flashed him a thumbs-up. "I'll be sure to get a front row seat."
They shared another small bout of laughter, then gazed out at the destinations that awaited them.
"Hey, Miles?" Sonic inquired.
"Mm?"
"Did you come to West Side Island to try and find out anything about your parents?"
The fox bowed his head and smiled sadly at his friend. "I came here mainly because my radar picked up the Chaos Emeralds. But, yeah, a small part of me was hoping I'd dig up something about them. I guess I can still look after this is over."
They let the silence hang for a little while, then Sonic piped up one last time.
"What'll you do when you get all the Chaos Emeralds?"
The answer seemed simple enough: restoring his birthplace to how it was before this invasion. But, he didn't need all seven to do that, as previous events had proven. Yet, if he did use every stone, he could potentially do anything. Perhaps he could bring back everything that the Empire had taken, even the lives that had been lost. Would it be right, though?
"I'd like to use them for something good, but," he said hesitantly, then tapped that little, long black nose, "we'll see, bud."
The hedgehog let out a noise that suggested he wasn't satisfied with the answer, but he didn't push the subject.
"Can I hear another story sometime?" he decided to ask instead.
"Of course!" Miles agreed happily, "I'll have to tell you about the time I made friends with another flier and his own tough little partner. Or when I faced off against this crazy witch with crystal powers, along with her three cronies. Oh, I bet you'd really like the one where I went to Never Lake and got to see Little Planet! I met a nice rabbit girl and her rascal of a friend." He grinned at Sonic. "She's a pink hedgehog that's around your age." All he got back was a disgruntled mumble, which made him snicker. "Ready to move on?"
It didn't take long after that for the pair to shove off towards their next destination. After spending so much time trying to get back to the surface, they both had an idea of how much damage the Kukkus had caused, and that motivated them to pick up the pace in spite of all the energy they'd already spent.
