Chaos Control
Chapter 5
Blossom found herself outside, hovering a yard or so over a grassy field. The field stretched on in both directions with what appeared to be a village in the distance.
"Where am I?" said Blossom looking around. "How did I get here?" Blossom observed her surroundings and she noticed a large wooden bridge behind her. The bridge rested over a ten feet wide chasm but what was across the chasm was what really caught Blossom's attention. Across the bridge was a large raised marble fountain. In the center of the fountain was a large green emerald that was so big that if it was hollow, Blossom could have fit inside. The large emerald sat in the fountain's water like some kind of monumental display piece. Circling the emerald and the fountain were seven pillars, each with an emerald on top which Blossom immediately recognized as Chaos Emeralds. As Blossom moved her gaze away from the fountain, she noticed that in front of the fountain was at least two dozen chaos (plural chao), all of them resembled Cheese except without the bow tie. They were all so cute playing around like a group of toddlers but Blossom couldn't figure out what they were doing here.
Questions ran through Blossom's mind.
"Is this a dream?" thought Blossom to herself. Blossom flew over to one of the chaos so she could touch him to see if he is real. She placed a hand on the chao's head and realized the chao felt real. The chao seemed a bit disturbed by being touched so Blossom took her hand away from him. Convinced that the chaos were real, Blossom decided to direct her attention on the fountain. As she flew closer to the emeralds, her curiosity grew.
"But how could all seven of the emeralds be here?" asked Blossom to no one. She flew over to one of the emeralds and was about to touch it when a female voice said, "No, don't touch it." Surprised, Blossom pulled her hand away, looked down and noticed an echidna on top of the steps towards the fountain. Blossom was surprised by the sudden arrival since Blossom was positive that no one was there before. The echidna didn't have sharp knuckles like Knuckles did and she was orange instead of red. The echidna wore an elegant yet simple dress with a gold tiara and white sandals. The echidna smiled up at Blossom in greeting. Curious, Blossom lowered herself to the ground at the echidna's eye level.
Suddenly, the water in the fountain began to bubble violently as if air was being blown into it but Blossom could not see what it was that was making the bubbles. The echidna turned to the bubbling water and said, "It's okay, this stranger is a friend. She means us no harm." With that, the bubbling stopped.
"What was that?" asked Blossom.
"That was the guardian." said the echidna.
"Guardian?" asked Blossom.
"Yes, we created him to protect the chao." said the echidna. She pointed Blossom in the direction of the chao who were playing in front of the fountain. "For decades now, the chao have been an endangered species. Their population has been declining on a yearly basis and if it doesn't stop, the chao will be extinct forever but thanks to our efforts, there is now hope to save them. We have been trying to protect these creatures so they may flourish and spread their joy to all." This story made Blossom smile out of joy that these harmless creatures would have a chance to survive.
"Blossom, wake up." said Buttercup as she shook Blossom awake. Surprised, Blossom opened her eyes too look up at Buttercup from her bed.
"Where's the fountain?" asked Blossom stupidly as she looked around the bedroom that Chris had loaned to Blossom and her sisters.
"What fountain?" asked Buttercup.
"I could have sworn...oh never mind." said Blossom.
"Well, I'm going down stairs with Bubbles for some breakfast." said Buttercup. "Meet you there." In a streak of green light, she flew out of the room. Blossom sat up, and gazed at the small bedroom, lost in thought about her dream. The room was nothing fancy, it was just a simple study room with a single mattress that was put in for the girls to sleep on. As Blossom sat there thinking about her dream, the more curious (and worried) she became.
"Was it a dream that I had and those chao and echidna were all just figments of my imagination?" thought Blossom to herself. "But the dream was so real. I even got to feel the chao. This doesn't make any sense, dreams can't be this real." Blossom then heard her stomach growl and realized that perhaps she should get something to eat. She flew out of the room and headed towards the dining room for breakfast.
The dining room was hard to find since the mansion was so large but eventually Blossom managed to find it and when she did, she saw Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Buttercup, Bubbles, Chris, and Professor Thorndyke sitting at the table.
"Hello, Blossom, care to join us?" said Professor Thorndyke. Blossom didn't say a word. She instead flew over to her seat and sat down into it. In front of her was a large fancy plate and at least half a dozen silverware laid out beside it. Blossom giggled to herself about the idea of having to decide which kind of fork she would eat with. She looked around the table but there was no food on it.
"Where's the food, I'm starving." complained Buttercup.
"Patients, Buttercup." said Professor Thorndyke. "Ella and Mr. Tanaka are still preparing it." Cheese also looked anxious to eat. He was too small to sit in a chair so he had to sit directly on the table. Seeing Cheese brought back the memory of the dream Blossom had and she was about to tell the others about it but was prevented by Mr. Tanaka and Ella who came in carrying the breakfast.
"Good morning, everyone." said Ella cheerfully. Ella and Mr. Tanaka put down the plates and bowls they were carrying onto the table. They continued to come in and out of the kitchen, bringing in more food to eat. Once they had brought everything in, the dinning room table was covered with a wide selection of food such as blue berry pancakes, banana muffins, bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and a bowl full of fresh fruit. Buttercup stared hungrily at the food.
"Oh boy, I can't wait to eat." said Buttercup.
"Well, you can't eat unless you sit up properly, young lady." said Ella as she walked up to Buttercup. "A nice nice little girl such as yourself shouldn't be slouching like that." Ella grabbed Buttercup by the shoulder and forced her to sit up strait. "You should also keep your elbows off the table and put your napkin in your lap." Ella continued to fuss over Buttercup. Irritation was on Buttercup's face the whole time but she new better than to complain. Blossom and Bubbles also tried to straiten themselves into a proper eating position so Ella wouldn't bother them as well and judging by how well everyone was sitting, the girls could tell that they were used to this kind of treatment from Ella.
Once Ella was satisfied with Buttercup, she and Mr. Tanaka sat down into their seats.
"Okay, we're ready to eat now." said Ella.
"But wait." said Bubbles. "Shouldn't we wait for Chris's parents to get here?"
"Yeah." said Blossom. "Come to think of it, I haven't even seen Chris's parents."
"Well, my mom and dad aren't here right now." said Chris.
"Well, where are they?" asked Bubbles.
"My dad is a business chairman for a computer software company and my mom is a famous actress." said Chris.
"Really, that's so cool." said Buttercup scooping some hash browns onto her plate.
"It is but sadly, because of their busy schedules, I really see them." said Chris.
"Oh, how sad." said Bubbles. The girls didn't push the subject further, feeling a bit maniacally about the issue.
Meanwhile, at Eggman's base, Eggman and Mojo were working on something new to enable them to collect the Chaos Emeralds. They were in Eggman's laboratory (which looked more like a large auto repair shop but with robots) creating a new device by combining their knowledge in machinery. The device was about as large as a standard computer but it was dark gray in color and the screen and monitor were all one unit. Mojo and Eggman both wore protective goggles on their faces and they were using their tools to fiddle around with the interior of the computer. Mojo was busy connecting wires, carefully screwing them into place.
"At last, it's done." said Mojo with triumph. He and Eggman closed the compartment on the back of the computer. The two villains turned the computer around, creating a loud screeching noise as the machine rubbed against the table, so that the screen will face them.
"So, Mojo, tell me, how does this device work?" asked Eggman.
"That is a good question and one that I have the answer to." said Mojo, gloating. "This is a device that works like a radar but unlike a radar, it detects something other than heat or any other form of sensory that you would normally find detected by radars. No, this radar is specially designed to detect the presence of energy created by the Chaos Emeralds. By carefully scanning the area little by little and gradually farther away from this base, the radar can track down and pin point the Chaos energy. Once the radar finds a source of Chaos energy, it will pin point the general area of where the energy is, enabling us to go to the Chaos Emerald so we can obtain it and once we obtain the emerald, we'll find other emeralds and as soon as we collect the remaining Chaos Emeralds, we will use their power to obtain the last one from Sonic and together, we'll rule the world. Wahahaha."
"You sure can talk fast." said Eggman.
"Thank you, now lets turn this thing on." said Mojo. Mojo flipped a switch on the side and the screen turned on. On the screen, the two villains could see the screen show the radar scanning parts of a vague line map and Eggman could tell that the radar was gradually scanning Station Square.
"So how long until the radar picks up the energy of the Chaos Emeralds?" asked Eggman.
"It depends on how far away the Chaos Emerald is." answered Mojo. Suddenly, the radar began to beep loudly.
"What does that mean?" asked Eggman.
"It means that the radar has already picked up the power of a Chaos Emerald." said Mojo. "It must be very close." Eggman grinned evilly.
"Excellent." said Eggman.
Meanwhile, back at the Thorndyke mansion, Blossom had went back to the guest room after breakfast to lay down on the mattress to think about her dream. Buttercup and Bubbles flew in and noticed Blossom lying on her back and staring up at the celling.
"Hey Blossom, what are you doing?" asked Buttercup.
"I was just thinking about a dream I had last night." said Blossom.
"So, I get dreams all the time." said Bubbles. "Infact, just last night, I dreamed I was a cute little bunny rabbit with long ears and I was nibbling on some carrots."
"You're weird, Bubbles." said Buttercup.
"No I'm not." protested Bubbles.
"Yes you are." interjected Buttercup.
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are."
"Girls!" shouted Blossom in order to get them to be quiet. She hovered off the mattress so she could face her sisters. "This is no ordinary dream I had. It felt...real." At that moment, Knuckles was just outside the door and overheard the conversation inside. The door into the room was wide open, enabling Knuckles to listen to their conversation.
"Real?" asked Bubbles. "What do you mean by real?"
"I mean that it seemed real." said Blossom. "I could feel the area around me and I remembered it as clearly as if I was there."
"What happened in the dream?" asked Buttercup.
"I was in some kind of a grassy meadow and there was this marble fountain and in front of the fountain was these chaos." said Blossom. "A whole lot of them."
"Chaos?" said Buttercup. "You mean like Cheese."
"Yes." said Blossom.
"Oh, I bet they looked so cute." said Bubbles.
"Did you see anything else?" asked Buttercup, ignoring Bubbles.
"Yes, I saw this orange colored echidna." said Blossom.
At this news, Knuckles's eyes widened in shock. He stepped into view and said, "Was the echidna wearing an elegant but simple dress with a tiara." The girls were surprised by the sudden entrance.
"Yes, she was." said Blossom. "Why? Do you know her?"
"Sort of." said Knuckles. "I don't know her personally but I do know that she was part of the original Echidna Tribe."
"Echidna Tribe?" said Bubbles. "What's that?"
"It is an ancient tribe that existed for centuries in our dimension but the tribe was tragically whipped out from existence." explained Knuckles. "I'm the last living descendent of the Echidna Tribe."
"How was the Echidna Tribe whipped out?" asked Blossom.
"No one knows." said Knuckles. "Some kind of a catastrophe killed them all in one day and only I was left alive." Bubbles sniffed loudly. This news was bringing a tear to her eye.
"But if you survived, then how come you don't remember what happened?" asked Buttercup.
"I was only a baby when it happened." said Knuckles.
"So, what does this female echidna have to do with my dreams?" asked Blossom.
"Her name is Tikal and ever since I was a small child, I kept having these dreams about her." said Knuckles. "As I got older, the dreams became more and more frequent and graphic. Infact, just recently, my dreams have become unusually real."
"So what does this all mean?" asked Blossom.
"I think that the spirit of Tikal is trying to tell us both something." said Knuckles. Blossom was a bit skeptical about the idea since she didn't believe in such supernatural nonsense such as ghosts. She instead changed the subject by saying, "I thought I saw the seven Chaos Emeralds in my dream. I also saw a very large emerald as well."
"Aw, yes." acknowledged Knuckles. "Before the tribe were destroyed, the Chaos Emeralds originally belonged to the Echidna Tribe and there is even rummers that they invented the emeralds. But that large emerald you saw was the Master Emerald. What it does or what it can do, even don't know. I can barely grasp what power it must hold."
"Is it here in this dimension?" asked Buttercup.
"No, unlike the other emeralds, the Master Emerald was left in the dimension we came from." said Knuckles. From down stairs, they heard Sonic yell out, "Powerpuff Girls, Knuckles, could you guys come down stairs so we can discuss how we're going to find Mojo." Without another word, Knuckles and the girls walked down the long flight of stairs to see Sonic in the living room.
The girls and Knuckles came into the same living room where they first met Chris. In the room was Amy, Sonic, Professor Thorndyke, Tails, and Chris, all of them sitting or standing, just waiting for them to show up.
"Hello, girls." said Sonic. "According to the news, there hasn't been any sighting of Mojo since the robot attack but he may still be here so we have to search for him."
"So what, I'm leaving." said Knuckles.
"Oh come on, Knuckles." pleaded Amy.
"I'm sure you guys can find that Mojo Jojo without me." said Knuckles. He opened the door out of the room and to everyone's surprise, including Knuckles, a small creature flew into the room. The creature was about two feet tall and it was humanoid in shape. It had pitch black skin and large pointed ears that made him look like a devil. He had pearl white eyes and he wore a tote bag, red shoes, white gloves, and a jet pack that enabled the little guy to fly. The small creature flew into the center of the room where he just hovered there.
"Message from Eggman." said the little black creature.
"Who...what is that?" said Buttercup.
"That's Bokkun, Eggman's messenger." explained Sonic.
"What is it you want, Bokkun?" demanded Knuckles threateningly.
"Eggman has sent me here to give you a message." explained Bokkun. He flew over to Blossom and from his tote bag, he pulled out what appeared to be a very small TV set. He put the TV into Blossom's out stretched arms and flew away giggling sinisterly. Bubbles and Buttercup got on both sides of Blossom as everyone else in the room gathered around the girls in order to see the screen. The TV screen was filled with static before the picture changed to Eggman and Mojo who grinned at the camera that was filming the message.
"Mojo?" chorused the girls.
"Hello, girls." said Mojo from the TV recording. "I'm pleased to announce that Eggman and I have joined forces."
"That's right and there's no way you can beat us now because with our combined efforts, we'll find the Chaos Emeralds and use their power to take over the world." said Eggman.
"Yeah and there's nothing you girls or Sonic can do about it." said Mojo. "With the new Chaos radar we had made, we will find those emeralds faster than ever." As the girls stared at the TV in shock at what they were seeing, everyone else was slowly backing away from the TV but the girls didn't notice.
"And as a finally humiliation, Bokkun was willing to add a little surprise for you." said Eggman from the TV and without warning, the TV exploded into the girls faces. The explosion was not too large bu it did leave a dark cloud of smoke and it did cover the girls in black soot.
"What was that about?" said Buttercup as she rubbed the soot out of her eyes.
"Sorry, we should have warned you that objects given by Bokkun tend to explode." apologized Sonic.
"I just can't believe it." sad Blossom. "Mojo and Eggman working together to find the Chaos Emeralds. That's unbelievable."
"But why did Eggman tell us about it?" asked Buttercup.
"Eggman likes to brag about his latest inventions and evil plots, even before he uses them." said Sonic.
"Regardless, this is really bad." said Blossom. "We got to stop them from finding the Chaos Emeralds." Bubbles was about to ask "how they were going to do that" when Cream and Cheese came into the room, panting as if they had been running.
"What's wrong, Cream?" asked Sonic.
"I just saw one of Eggman's fighter jets fly by." said Cream. Immediately, everyone followed Cream to the backyard but once they were outside, they saw nothing of the sort.
"Are you sure it was Eggman's plane?" asked Tails.
"I'm certain it was Eggman's plane." said Cream. "I saw it flying by in the distance."
"If Eggman and Mojo are out there, that must mean they have already located a Chaos Emerald." said Sonic.
"Come on, you guys." said Buttercup. "Lets follow them and get that Chaos Emerald before they do."
"She's right, lets go." said Knuckles.
"Amy, Knuckles, Cream, Cheese, and myself will ride the X Tornado while you guys move ahead of us." said Tails.
"Good idea, Tails, but we better stay in touch by walkie talkie so we can find each other." said Sonic.
"I'll go get them." said Tails. His two tails spinned like propellers as Tails flew into the mansion and in just a few seconds, Tails returned carrying some head sets that are designed to function like little radios. Sonic and Tails put on the head sets and spoke into them to see if they worked. Once satisfied that the radios worked, Sonic and the girls sped off to find Eggman and Mojo while Tails and the others went back to the garage where they keep the planes.
The five of them located the silver colored jet plane called the X Tornado where they crawled into its seats. There were only three seats (each one located behind the other) so Cream and Cheese had to sit in Knuckles's lap to make room. Tails sat in the pilots seat at the very front.
"Is everyone buckled in." asked Tails. Once everyone said yes, Tails said, "Okay hold on to something." The automatic garage door opened revealing a long run way for the plane to take off from. Tails started the engines of the X Tornado, allowing it to warm up. Then with just a push of the throttle, the X Tornado shot forwards, moving so fast that everyone was pushed back by the G-force. The X Tornado was quickly into the air, flying high into the sky, looking down on Station Square. From in the air, the speed was more tolerable and Tails could more easily spot Sonic and the girls thanks to the colorful streaks of light that the girls created when they flew.
"They're heading towards the forest." said Tails. "We better follow them." Tails steered the plane towards the direction Sonic and the girls were going, unaware of what dangers they would soon face.