Chapter 2: The Race Begins
The grey plane flew majestically over Station Square. The wind blew in the young pilot's face. But it didn't bother him. He lived for the feeling of freedom that could only be felt when one was flying, free of the pressures of the world. The pilot was none other than Miles "Tails" Prower (known to his friends and enemies as Tails), the side-kick of Sonic the Hedgehog and all-around whiz kid.
Tails checked the various displays on the inside of the cockpit. Everything seemed to be going just as he had hoped. His new prototype plane was faster, more manoeuvrable and more energy efficient than anything he had flown before. As if to prove this point, Tails performed a tight barrel roll. He laughed to himself.
"Just wait until Sonic sees this beauty," he said. "For once he might be lagging behind me!" Tails knew that there was little or no chance of that happening. Sonic was probably the fastest thing on the face of the Earth. He could probably run around the world in the time it took most people to complete a 1 kilometre run. But it didn't hurt to dream.
Tails heard a snap, followed by a small explosion. He could see smoke coming out of the front of the plane. The plane began to drop steeply towards the streets. Tails screamed, but then gritted his teeth and tried to pull the plane out of its mad descent. It wasn't working. Tails could see the traffic below, and he was getting dangerously close to it. If he crashed now, he would probably take half the street with him. He closed his eyes and kept pulling back. He opened them again quickly when he heard a crunch. He hadn't crashed, but it was nearly as bad. One wing had literally been torn off by a passing car. He finally managed to pull the plane off the road, but he had no control over where the plane was going. The plane was spinning wildly, and Tails vision had become a complete blur. He could just make out a faint wall of sheer rock. Tails let out an eep. He was going to crash into a cliff. This was the end. Tails shut his eyes tight as he felt the wind pass him by as he headed for the cliff.
Then he suddenly felt close to weightless. He heard what must have been the sound of his plane exploding. So why wasn't he dead? The answer came with a loud thud as he hit the ground. Then he heard a voice say, "Don't that to me again, bud." He recognised that voice. It was the voice of Sonic.
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There were times when Sonic just didn't understand Tails. This was one of those times. Tails had just narrowly escaped death, and yet there he was, searching through the rubble. It didn't make any sense.
"What are you looking for anyway?" Sonic asked, hoping to receive a vaguely sane answer.
"Well that plane was a prototype I've been designing with superior speed and handling," Tails replied. "And I'm trying to find the fuel supply."
"What?" Sonic yelled in disbelief. "What sort of fuel supply wouldn't you be able to replace?"
"This!" Tails exclaimed in triumph with his hand held high in the air. In his hand was magnificent purple jewel. It glowed with a magnificent radiance. Sonic let his jaw drop in disbelief.
"Is that a chaos emerald?" he said, his hand shaking as he pointed at the jewel.
"Yep, I was lucky enough to find one on one of my test flights."
"Some guys have all the luck. But why on earth would you want to use a chaos emerald to power your plane?"
"Well, as I'm sure you know by now, the chaos emeralds have infinite power, and I thought that if I could harness that power, then I could use it to power a new and better plane."
"Yeah, but I think you overestimated your mechanical genius there, bud."
"Maybe, but I think I know what the problem is. I'm heading over to my workshop near the Mystic Ruins to work on it. Do you want to come along."
"Yeah sure. I need something to do today."
"Well come on then, we'll take the train. It's the quickest way there."
"I doubt it," Sonic though to himself as they walked to the train station, unaware of what awaited them at the Mystic Ruins.
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The train slowly came to a stop. AS the doors opened Sonic and Tails quickly stepped out.
"About time," Sonic said in frustration. "There's no way that could be the fastest way to get here."
"Yeah, well it may not be the fastest way for you, but it sure is the fastest way for me," Tails replied.
"Alright, I get the idea. But why one earth does your workshop have to be all the way out here?
"I like some peace and quiet when I'm working on stuff. Besides, there's an archaeological team here searching for the ruins, and they always seem to be breaking their equipment, so I can make some money repairing them. Come on, let's go."
"Lead the way."
Tails looked around. The ar5ea was covered with mountains and cave on one side that made it difficult to get into the jungle where the ruins were located. He remembered that the archaeological team had spent months digging a tunnel through, and it was only completed that quickly because of a rogue badnik. Typically, in about a week Tails finished work on a laser that could have blasted through the mountain in seconds. It was always like that. As soon as they finished a job, Tails found a way of doing it faster.
Tails waved to the leader of the expedition as he walked past. The man was staring at a mountain. Tails stopped in his tracks. He was sure that that mountain hadn't been there yesterday. Sonic looked back, as he had outpaced Tails even at walking speed.
"Come on Tails, we don't have all day," Sonic yelled. "What's keeping you?"
"Oh it's nothing," Tails said, shaking his head. He quickened his pace to catch up to Sonic. However, as he walked up the steps to his workshop he couldn't stop thinking about that mountain. How could a mountain appear out of nowhere? He decided he'd have to look into it later.
Tails and Sonic finally reached the top. Tails' workshop was within sight, just on the other side of this patch of bare ground. The workshop appeared small on the outside, about the size of a shed, but it had a massive basement beneath it where Tails kept all of his projects. He knew that he'd have to expand soon, as the workshop was getting crowded.
Tails' thoughts were interrupted by a loud drone above. Sonic and Tails looked up to see a spherical object in the sky. The moved rapidly down and stopped a few inches above the ground. Tails flinched. In the cockpit of the vehicle was a large man wearing a red jacket, with a small head and large, bushy moustache. It was Dr Robotnik, known to many as Dr Eggman.
"Look, a big talking egg!" Sonic mocked. He was always like that when it came to Robotnik. Tails wished he had the guts to stand up to Robotnik like that.
"Silence!" Robotnik bellowed. "I am Dr Robotnik, the greatest scientific genius in the world!"
"Yeah right, Eggman."
"I have a brand new plan to take over the world, and it involves the Chaos Emeralds. If I'm not mistaken, and I never am, isn't that one in your hand, Tails?" Robotnik grinned.
Tails looked at the purple jewel in his hands. He couldn't let Robotnik get his hands on it. There was no telling what he might use it for. "There's no way you're getting this, Eggman!"
"Well, I asked nicely," Robotnik said quietly, "so now I'll just have to take it by force!" He pressed a button on the control panel of his craft. Two missile launchers popped out on the back of the craft, and two massive stinger appeared on the sides. Tails didn't bother to wonder how he managed to fit those in. Robotnik was even better with machines than him, so it was no wonder that he could do something like that. "Let's see you beat this!"
No sooner had he said that, Sonic and Tails disappeared. The missile launchers and stingers fell off as Sonic landed. Robotnik was seething as Sonic looked up. Robotnik followed Sonic's gaze just in time to see Tails' feet smash into his head and send the craft hurtling into the ground. The craft lay there, smoke coming out of the tiny engine.
"Well that was easy," Tails said as he went back to Sonic with the purple Chaos Emerald in his hands. He heard a laugh behind him and turned around just in time to see a mechanical claw snatch the jewel. The claw retracted back into Robotnik's craft, and he grabbed the Chaos Emerald with glee. The craft hovered back into the air.
"Chaos, oh Chaos!" Robotnik called. A puddle appeared near Robotnik, and out of it rose a creature all too familiar to Sonic.
"It's that monster I saw yesterday," he said.
"Monster?" Tails whispered in fear.
"Now Chaos, time to eat!" Robotnik said as he threw the Chaos Emerald at the creature. The emerald passed into the body of the creature. Then it began to change. It increased in size slightly, and its right arm grew. Its face also appeared more menacing.
"Yes!" Robotnik yelled. "His strength increases every time I give him a Chaos Emerald. With all seven in him, he'll be invincible. And he'll work for me! Then I shall use him to destroy Station Square. There I will build Robotnikland, the ultimate city from which I shall begin my conquest of the world. Now if you don't mind, I have to go get more Chaos Emeralds! Farewell!" Robotniks ship began to ascend.
"Not on your life, Eggman!" Sonic said as he charged at the scientist. He leapt into the air, determined to bring Robotnik crashing down. He was suddenly batted aside and sent crashing to the ground. Sonic saw Chaos standing there, his arm outstretched. That was twice now that Chaos had gotten the drop on him. As the creature turned into his puddle form and seeped into the ground, Sonic swore to himself that it wouldn't happen again.
Tails came running up to Sonic. "Are you okay?" he asked with a worried look on his face.
"Yeah," Sonic replied with a groan. He leapt to his feet. "If Chaos gets any stronger, we're in big trouble. We've got to get the Chaos Emeralds before Eggman does."
"I heard a rumour that someone detected a massive energy source around here recently."
"Then let's go!" Sonic and Tails ran, hoping that their legs would lead them to a Chaos Emerald. The race had begun.
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My worst fears have been fulfilled: Chaos has risen again. The can be no doubt about it. I saw him transform when that madman gave him a Chaos Emerald. How can he not see that Chaos will eventually stab him in the back and proceed to destroy the world?
I remember that day, when Chaos nearly destroyed the world, like it was yesterday. As far as I'm concerned, it was. I've been sealed with him in the Master Emerald for all that time. It is clear that sealing him away has not solved anything.
If Chaos gets all the Chaos Emeralds, then the world is doomed. With the Master Emerald shattered, there is no way to seal him away. But perhaps I can help this new guardian of the Master Emerald to restore it.
However, that must take second priority. The most important thing is to stop Chaos from getting the rest of the emeralds. That hedgehog and that fox that I saw before seem to have the courage to gather the emeralds and defend them. However, they clearly do not understand the immense power that Chaos possesses. I must make them aware of it. Only then will they understand the importance of their quest. And only then can they hope to succeed. And succeed they must. For if they fail, then there will be no stopping the age of Chaos
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A/N: Sorry that I've taken so long posting this chapter up. I've been really busy with exams at school and such. Fortunately, I'm on summer vacation now (the joys of living in the southern hemisphere!), so I should be able to have more frequent updates.
By the way, if you want me to review a fanfic of yours, then simply say so in a review. However, I should warn you that I only really know stuff about video game series that are on Nintendo consoles.