Chapter 2: The Search Begins

The next day…

The morning sun shone in the azure sky as a steel biplane flew over the sea. Its pilot, a small Mobian Fox with two tails, checked the screen in front of him.

"So far so good. Looks like the new propulsion system is working great."

The Fox looked to the horizon. Through the spinning blades of the propellor, he saw something that made him pause.

A peninsula.

He had flown over this area many times during his test flights. There wasn't supposed to be a peninsula here.

"Where did it come from?" he thought.

As soon as that question crossed his mind, he noticed another detail.

Something was missing.

A floating mass of land.

He tapped on a map icon on his screen and studied it carefully. He looked to the peninsula, his eyes widening when he realized what it really was.

"Angel Island! It's in the ocean!"

He flew towards the island, descending to get a closer look, and headed for the center.

"Knuckles!" he called. "Knuckles, are you there?!"

No one replied. As he drew near, he saw something shocking, and worrying.

In the middle of the island, at the foot of a tall mountain, was the ruins of an old shrine. At the top of the shrine was a large indentation.

That was what troubled the Fox. Something was missing from that indentation.

A gem of great power.

"The Master Emerald! It's gone!"

Tails tightened his grip on his control sticks, his mind now racing with questions. Angel Island had fallen from its place in the sky, and Knuckles and the Master Emerald were gone. This could only mean that something bad had happened.

But what? What could've happened? What could've made Knuckles take the Master Emerald from Angel Island? If he took it at all? What if someone else took the Master Emerald and Knuckles went after him? Of what if Knuckles was taken, too?

There were so many possibilities, and Tails couldn't even begin to guess which one took place.

Circling the island, the Fox thought hard.

"What should I do? I don't even know what happened here, or where to start looking for answers. Wait, Sonic's at Station Square! That's not far from here!"

Tails quickly shifted gears, ascending into the sky, and flew to the city.

Later, at Emerald Coast…

On the shore of the beach, Sonic, sleeping on a large beach chair, winced as the rays of the rising sun slowly came over his face. He rubbed the drowsiness from his eyes, and looked around, squinting from morning brightness. He remembered that after chasing that water creature, he left the sewers and made his way to the beach to think.

"I must've fallen asleep," he said, groggy. "What time is it anyway? Wait, what's that noise?"

A dull droning sound slowly began to mix with the soothing rush of the ocean waves. Sonic looked to the horizon and saw a small black dot in the distance. As it drew closer, it got bigger, and the droning sound got louder. Soon, it came into clear view.

It was a silver biplane. At the helm was a Mobian Fox with twin-tails.

"Tails?"

As soon as Sonic recognized the plane and pilot, the machine made a sudden, violent jerk. Then, there was a small explosion at the propellor. The biplane wavered before diving towards the ocean.

"Tails!"

Sonic leapt to his feet, now fully awake and alert.

Luckily, just as the plane was about to hit the water, it turned up sharply. It fought to stay airborne, rocking back and forth. Things got worse when smoke began spewing out of the front.

"Hang on, buddy!"

Sonic ran after the struggling plane, creating a plume of sand behind his heels. Up ahead, he saw pillars of rocks standing up out of the ocean. He sprinted, gaining more speed, and jumped from pillar to pillar, looking like a large blue pinball. At the last rock, he leapt for a cabana on a pier in the middle of the bay and sprinted across the bridge. Seeing a sharp corner, he grabbed a wooden pole and swung himself around. The bridge led him to another beach. Just beyond it was a sandbank.

And the plane was heading straight for it.

The moment Sonic reached the edge, the plane crashed. It landed almost parallel to the sand, but the slight angle caused it to slide, sending an enormous cloud of sand up into the air.

With one last dash, Sonic jumped the distance between the beach and the shoal.

The sand slowly settled as he drew near. The Fox pilot pulled himself out of the cockpit. Using his tails like a propeller, he lowered himself to the ground, coughing and staggering.

"Tails!"

Tails looked up as Sonic approached him. He was shaken from the crash, but was unharmed, much to the Hedgehog's relief.

He wished he could say the same for his friend's plane.

The wings were broken at the tips and bent out of shape, the propellor was completely gone, and the thin trails of smoke leaking from the engine showed it was damaged beyond repair.

Still, the most important thing was that Sonic's friend was safe and sound.

"Sonic!" said Tails, wiping some sand off his arm. "Glad you're here!"

"Are you okay, buddy?" Sonic asked. "What happened? You're too good of a pilot to crash like that."

"I'm fine," replied the Fox. "I was testing out a new power system for the Tornado. It was going great for a while, but when I approached the city, it suddenly went haywire."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What's the new power system?"

Tails turned and headed for the plane engine. He lifted the hood, covering his mouth and nose and waving the smoke away. He reached inside and pulled out a large violet gemstone that glowed like a star.

Sonic inhaled sharply. "Tails, that's a Chaos Emerald!"

"Yeah, I've been working on a new tracking device after finding a Chaos Emerald the other day," Tails explained. "It helped me find this one in the Mystic Ruins. Then, I got the idea to try and use it as a power supply for my plane. Thanks to its unlimited power, it was able to give the Tornado an added boost of speed for a longer duration of time. I tested it out further on this prototype, and good thing, too. It still needs some work."

"I know you'll figure it out," Sonic encouraged. "You're the smartest guy I know."

Suddenly, Tails jumped in alarm. "Oh, wait, what am I saying?! Sonic! Something bad has happened!"

"Huh? What?"

"I was flying over Angel Island earlier, and it's in the ocean!"

"What?!"

"When I flew over to investigate, Knuckles was nowhere to be found! And the Master Emerald's gone!"

Sonic facepalmed himself and let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't tell me that knuckle-head was tricked into losing it again!"

"Knuckles wouldn't let the Master Emerald out of his sight!" said Tails. "Sonic, what if he's been captured?! Or worse?!"

Sonic narrowed his eyes and brought his hand to his chin. Something about what Tails said made the memories of last night flash in his mind.

First that water creature, and now Knuckles and the Master Emerald are missing.

Was it just a coincidence? Or were the two connected?

"Sonic, what's wrong?" Tails asked, seeing the Hedgehog's pensiveness.

Sonic shook his head. "Nothing. It's just something happened last night. C'mon, let's head to Angel Island. I'll explain on the way."

As the two friends made their way across the beach towards the city – with Sonic running and Tails flying beside him – Sonic told Tails about his encounter with the strange creature. Tails listened intently, the worry on his face becoming more noticeable.

"You think they could be connected somehow?" he asked.

"Don't know for sure," Sonic said. "But standing around isn't going to get us answers. Maybe we'll find something at Angel Island."

"Right. There's a train station next to Emerald Coast. Let's take that."

"I'd prefer to run," Sonic stated before frowning. "But the fastest way to get there is across an inlet. I'll take the train this time."

No less than two minutes later, Sonic and Tails had their tickets – curtesy of Tails – and were waiting for the train to arrive. Sonic, tapping his foot impatiently, rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, making a face. If there was one thing he hated the most in the world, it was waiting around for something to happen. He just wanted to race to Angel Island and be done with it. If it wasn't for the water blocking his way, he would've objected to the train instantly.

"The train to Mystic Ruin will be arriving shortly,"announced a voice over the intercom. "Please prepare to board."

A minute later, the tracks began to rumble, and the metro train rolled into the station.

"Finally!" Sonic said, exacerbated.

"Don't celebrate yet, Sonic," Tails replied. "We still have to ride the train."

Sonic hung his head at the reminder. Dreading the next wait, he followed Tails onto the train.

Had they stayed on the platform a little longer, they would've seen a red Mobian Echidna and an auburn-haired girl in a green outfit depart with others on the train only two doors down.

The two exited the station as the train left for Mystic Ruin. The Echidna turned towards the city, and the girl to the beach, both completely unaware of each other.

"I can sense it," said the Echidna. "There's an Emerald shard here somewhere. I've got to find it fast."

Later…

Alex sat near the edge of the water, pulling in her legs, and resting her chin on her arms. She stared blankly at the horizon. Her eyes were red from both lack of sleep and tears. Despite all the visitors on the beach and in the water, she felt completely alone.

Alone and numb.

She had obeyed her master and got as far away from Mystic Ruin as she could, and deep feeling of guilt had settled in. Carrie and Master Aaron needed her help, and she just ran. She should've stayed. She should've fought back.

Then again, what could she do? If that monster took down her master, what chance did she, an apprentice, have? That monster smacked her around like a punching bag.

What was that monster anyway? Why did it attack them? Was it because they were Mystics?

Alex didn't know the reason. All she knew was that she was powerless to do anything. That hurt worse than any bodily injury.

She sighed heavily, hiding her face in her arms. She wanted to cry, but her tears were all dried up. There was nothing she could do to release the pain in her heart.

Then, something tapped her shoulder, and a little girl's voice said, "Excuse me, Miss, are you alright?"

Alex snapped her head up, startled. A cute little Mobian Rabbit in a pumpkin-orange dress with a blue ribbon was standing beside her. She stepped back when Alex jumped, her big brown eyes meeting Alex's blue ones.

"I'm sorry," said the Rabbit. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no, it's fine," Alex replied quickly. "I just…got lost in thought."

"Are you okay?" asked the Rabbit. "You look sad."

"I…I'm fine." Alex said, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I just…had a long night."

The Rabbit looked at her with sympathy. "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, not really," Alex murmured.

There was a long silence. Alex glanced away, feeling awkward.

Then, the Rabbit suddenly perked up.

"Wait right here," she said with a bright smile. "I'll be right back."

"Huh? Hey, wait!"

But the Rabbit was already gone. Alex turned back to the ocean, wondering where she went. A few minutes later, the Rabbit returned.

Alex blinked in surprise. The Rabbit had been using her ears to fly. She knew Mobians had unique abilities of their own, but she had never seen a rabbit fly using her ears. It was quite an unusual sight.

She looked away and touched her ring, thinking, "Not that I'm one to talk."

The Rabbit landed next to Alex and handed her a chocolate ice cream cone.

"Here," she said kindly. "I hope you like chocolate."

Alex glanced between the Rabbit and the ice cream. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she graciously took the snack.

"I don't know anyone who doesn't," she said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," replied the Rabbit. "What's your name?"

"Alex. Well, Alexa, actually. But everyone calls me Alex. You?"

"My name's Cream. It's nice to meet you, Alex."

"Yeah. Nice to meet you, too, Cream."

Cream sat down next to Alex and happily ate her vanilla ice cream. Alex slowly ate hers, its refreshing chill warding off the sun's heat, and its delicious taste uplifting her spirit. The two sat in silence for a while, listening to the ocean waves rushing to shore, the laughter and splashing of beachgoers, and the gentle breeze that cooled their hot skin and fur.

Cream finished her ice cream and smiled.

"Ice cream is wonderful, isn't it?" she said. "Especially on a nice day by the beach."

"I guess so," Alex replied softly.

Cream's smile faded a bit. "To be honest, I was worried that my mother and I wouldn't be able to come to the beach this year."

"Why's that?" Alex asked.

"Didn't you hear? There was a monster attack last night."

Alex stiffened and her eyes widened. "A monster attack? Where? What did it look like?"

Cream thought for a second. "Well, from what the news reports say, it looked like it was made of water, and it attacked the police outside of a casino. The police would've been in big trouble if Mr. Sonic hadn't shown up."

"Sonic?" Alex questioned. "Who's he?"

Cream looked at Alex with surprise, as if she had just said something random.

"You haven't heard of Sonic the Hedgehog?" she said. "He's a great hero. He rescued my mother from Dr. Eggman once. He fought the monster and chased it into the sewer. Ever since then, the monster hasn't appeared again. I hope that means Mr. Sonic defeated it."

As Cream talked, Alex felt her chest tighten, and her heart quicken. That numbness was returning, this time for another reason. It wasn't despair. It was something else entirely.

That water monster that attacked her, her friend, and Master; was it the same one this Sonic guy fought?

"It has to be!" she thought.

"Cream," Alex said suddenly, "do you know where I can find Sonic?"

Cream stared at Alex, surprised by her urgent tone. Alex recoiled and hastily finished her ice cream, grimacing from the brain freeze. She sounded too desperate. She had to calm down before she let anything slip.

Cream thought for a moment.

"Well," she said, "now that you mention it, when my mother and I were walking here, I saw him and his friend, Tails, enter the train station. I wanted to say hello, but they looked like they were in a hurry."

"When?" Alex asked.

"Just a few minutes ago. Why? Do you need to talk to him?"

"Something like that. Listen, I gotta go."

Alex stood up and ran a few paces before sliding to a stop and turning around.

"Oh, and thanks, Cream," she said. "I do feel better now."

Cream gave a cute smile. "I'm glad. Maybe we can do this again sometime."

"Yeah, maybe," Alex replied. "Look, sorry to run like this, but I really need to go."

"It's alright. I hope you find Mr. Sonic. Good-bye, Alex."

"Thank you, Cream. See you later."

With that, Alex ran back to the station. If what Cream said was accurate, that meant that this Sonic had boarded the train she had just disembarked from. And that train was heading back to Mystic Ruin.

The same place she had just run away from.

The idea of going back to that place made Alex shiver, but if this Sonic had fought that water monster and won, then maybe he can help her get Carrie and Master Aaron back.

"I just hope I can catch up with him," she thought. "And I hope I'm right about where he's going."