--Angel Island--
Knuckles leaned back against one of the old broken columns around the shrine of the Master Emerald, his deep blue eyes, which sometimes seemed almost purple in the right light, closed. He could feel the sun on his face, as well as a gentle breeze, and see the cream/pink light filtering through his closed eyelids. Angel Island was peaceful again, floating high in the air once more. He listened to the sound of a few birds singing softly, could feel the energy of the nearby Master Emerald. If he opened his eyes, he would see its green radiance from the top of the shrine. A new sound came to his ears, a soft singing, not the singing of the Chao who lived nearby, but another voice.
"Long days have passed
And will pass again
Summer of sunshine
Turning to rain
Rain passing to snowfall
From the wintry skies
Winter gives way to Spring
And new lives arise"
Tikal was the singer, Knuckles recognised her voice, if voice it truly was - he couldn't say. She had been dead for hundreds of years, only her spirit now remaining, so whether she had any real voice, or if it was merely his mind that 'heard' the words, he didn't know. But it sounded like any voice to him, and that was enough. She began a second song, sadder than the first.
"The sun, the sun shines down
'Cross the cities, 'cross the towns
Broken houses, broken dreams
Where lie the people I have seen?
The sun knows no cares
The stars know no fears
There still is much beauty
Remaining here
The past is lost, and long since gone
But memories can carry on
Things of shadows, waking dreams
Echoes of what used to be..."
For the first time in a while, Knuckles could just relax. The Master Emerald was back where it belonged, and everything was peaceful. A part of his mind idly wondered where Rouge was. She was around the island somewhere, having decided to go off and explore it almost as soon as they had got there. For a while, he simply enjoyed being there, at peace. Even with his eyes closed, he could practically see the area where he lay, and his whole being was peaceful...
Suddenly, he noticed a change. Tikal's song had stopped, not at an end, but cut off in the middle of a line. Even as he wondered what was wrong and opened his eyes, blinking against the sunlight which he was staring directly into, he heard her voice.
"I feel something coming," she said. He turned his head to the left. Sure enough, there she was, hovering in the air at about head height, merely a glowing orb of light and energy at the moment, not bothering to show any other form. Knuckles sat up, alert at once, his peace disturbed.
"What is it?"
"I... I don't know exactly. It is some kind of energy, and it is coming closer fast."
"The Chaos Emerald in that plane of Tails'?" Knuckles guessed. Tikal made a small movement that seemed the equivalent of a shake of the head.
"No, this is no Emerald. The power is weaker than that. I do not know what it is, but it travels fast from below, and it is headed here!" Knuckles stood and walked to the edge of the island, looking out and down in the direction Tikal indicated. She was describing tight, nervous circles in the air close to his head, and he got the feeling that she was watching something intently.
"It comes - you should be able to see it now."
He looked harder, at first seeing nothing, then spotting a black speck outlined against the sea far below. It was coming closer fast, but was far too small to be that plane - the Tornado 2, Tails called it. Knuckles watched it approach, a feeling of apprehension growing inside him. Soon it would be close enough for him to make out what it was.
Knuckles leaned back against one of the old broken columns around the shrine of the Master Emerald, his deep blue eyes, which sometimes seemed almost purple in the right light, closed. He could feel the sun on his face, as well as a gentle breeze, and see the cream/pink light filtering through his closed eyelids. Angel Island was peaceful again, floating high in the air once more. He listened to the sound of a few birds singing softly, could feel the energy of the nearby Master Emerald. If he opened his eyes, he would see its green radiance from the top of the shrine. A new sound came to his ears, a soft singing, not the singing of the Chao who lived nearby, but another voice.
"Long days have passed
And will pass again
Summer of sunshine
Turning to rain
Rain passing to snowfall
From the wintry skies
Winter gives way to Spring
And new lives arise"
Tikal was the singer, Knuckles recognised her voice, if voice it truly was - he couldn't say. She had been dead for hundreds of years, only her spirit now remaining, so whether she had any real voice, or if it was merely his mind that 'heard' the words, he didn't know. But it sounded like any voice to him, and that was enough. She began a second song, sadder than the first.
"The sun, the sun shines down
'Cross the cities, 'cross the towns
Broken houses, broken dreams
Where lie the people I have seen?
The sun knows no cares
The stars know no fears
There still is much beauty
Remaining here
The past is lost, and long since gone
But memories can carry on
Things of shadows, waking dreams
Echoes of what used to be..."
For the first time in a while, Knuckles could just relax. The Master Emerald was back where it belonged, and everything was peaceful. A part of his mind idly wondered where Rouge was. She was around the island somewhere, having decided to go off and explore it almost as soon as they had got there. For a while, he simply enjoyed being there, at peace. Even with his eyes closed, he could practically see the area where he lay, and his whole being was peaceful...
Suddenly, he noticed a change. Tikal's song had stopped, not at an end, but cut off in the middle of a line. Even as he wondered what was wrong and opened his eyes, blinking against the sunlight which he was staring directly into, he heard her voice.
"I feel something coming," she said. He turned his head to the left. Sure enough, there she was, hovering in the air at about head height, merely a glowing orb of light and energy at the moment, not bothering to show any other form. Knuckles sat up, alert at once, his peace disturbed.
"What is it?"
"I... I don't know exactly. It is some kind of energy, and it is coming closer fast."
"The Chaos Emerald in that plane of Tails'?" Knuckles guessed. Tikal made a small movement that seemed the equivalent of a shake of the head.
"No, this is no Emerald. The power is weaker than that. I do not know what it is, but it travels fast from below, and it is headed here!" Knuckles stood and walked to the edge of the island, looking out and down in the direction Tikal indicated. She was describing tight, nervous circles in the air close to his head, and he got the feeling that she was watching something intently.
"It comes - you should be able to see it now."
He looked harder, at first seeing nothing, then spotting a black speck outlined against the sea far below. It was coming closer fast, but was far too small to be that plane - the Tornado 2, Tails called it. Knuckles watched it approach, a feeling of apprehension growing inside him. Soon it would be close enough for him to make out what it was.
