Chapter 5 – A Legend Revealed

"Wow. This place is incredible." said Petya staring at the landscape.

Petya and T2 were standing on a slight rise over looking the Marble Zone.

"Yes, it's incredible but very dangerous too. See those lava pools?" replied T2.

Petya looked at where T2 was indicating. Several large pools of lava were scattered around the place. As she watched one started to emit fireballs and another decided to increase in size.

"Oh my! That's nasty." she said.

"Too right. We have to go down there…but we must be careful."

"Hmmmm."

Petya and T2 carefully made there way down the rise and into the Marble Zone.

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Sally shot into Alicia's room.

"Alicia! ALICIA! I'm sorry! Oh god I'm……." cried Sally as she ran in.

She suddenly stopped and surveyed the room. It was just as it had been when she had left but Alicia wasn't there.

"Alicia?" said Sally nervously, "Alicia? Are you there dear?"

There was no answer. Sally panicked.

"Oh god. Where's Alicia?!" she cried.

She raised her arm and switched on the comm unit she had strapped there.

"Hello?" she said quickly.

"Your highness." came a reply, "What can I do…."

"Shut up and listen." cried Sally frantically, "I want a full search of the palace for Alicia. She's gone missing."

"Yes my queen." said the voice on the other end, "I'll start one immediately."

"Hurry." said Sally as she switched the comm off.

She walked over to Alicia's bed and sat down. A tear started to form in her eye.

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"Can't this thing go any faster?!" cried Tails.

"Only if you sit down and stop yelling at me sugah!" said Bunnie.

The group was traveling towards the Marble Zone in the royal transport with Bunnie and Charles at the controls.

"Not long now." said Chalres.

"Good." said Sonic, "Nicole any more data?"

"T2's bio signs have moved into the Marble Zone, scanners also indicate another person with him. Bio signs unknown."

"That has to be Petya." said Amy.

"I think you're right." said Sonic, "Floor it. We have to catch up with them."

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T2 and Petya walked into the Marble Zone. Pits of lava bubbled around them.

"Any ideas?" asked Petya.

"None. Lets have a look at that tablet again."

Petya got the tablet out again and handed it to T2. It was exactly the same as before.

"Hmm……now that were here. Maybe we can get some more information out of this thing. Petya hand me the DP stones."

Petya got out the DP stones and handed them to T2. He slotted them together. For a moment nothing happened, then they started glowing and the sphere went up again. The tablet started to glow again and then the Power Stones dimmed. T2 quickly picked up the tablet.

"Yes I knew that would work. Look."

Petya looked at the tablet. There was more writing on it now.

"What's it say?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. That's the symbol for paldon, then jufer and…..hmmm…….paldon, jufer, hy? Hyter…..hy…tor….hytor…..yes that's it! Paldon jufer hyton!"

"What's that mean?"

"Now the test begins."

Suddenly the ground shook. Petya and T2 stood up only to fall over again. After a few seconds the ground stopped shaking. Petya put the Power Stones and the tablet away.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I don't know. It felt like some sort of earthquake but…….Petya look out!"

Petya spun to see a giant crack opening in the ground and heading towards them. Petya screamed and jumped to the side as the crack shot past. T2 jumped into the air and flew a few meters to the side. Petya started to pick herself up when another crack opened up and shot past her other side. Both cracks quickly filled with lava. Petya jumped to her feet. She was standing on a small island only a meter wide surrounded by lava. T2 leapt into the air again.

"Don't worry Petya. I'll get you off there. Get ready to grab on."

T2 flew over the lava. The heat was immense. He was almost there.

"Ok Petya grab me…..ARGH!"

A huge fireball shot out of the lava narrowly missing T2. He darted to the side as it started to drop and fell back into the lava.

"That was close." he said to himself.

"T2 look out!" cried Petya.

T2 looked down to see three fireballs shooting towards him. He screamed and flew to one side dodging two of them. The third skimmed one of his tails. T2 almost lost his flight as the pain hit him. He dropped several feet cringing.

"T2!" cried Petya.

T2 looked up to see the island Petya was standing on was breaking apart.

"Oh god. Hang on Petya!" he called almost forgetting the pain.

He darted towards her. She reached up and grabbed his hand. T2 painfully spun his tails a bit faster and lifted her off the island as it disintegrated and fell into the lava. He hovered for a few second and then turned and flew across the lava, landing on the ground nearby. Petya collapsed to her knees and stated gasping. T2 just whimpered and fell to the floor. He flicked his tails up and caught a hold on them. The ends where completely burnt. He cringed as the pain returned. Petya shuffled over to him and looked at the burn. She winced.

"You're lucky you kept your flight there T2. This burn is quite serious." she said.

"I know." whimpered T2.

"We have to get out of here. I don't care about my mission right now. We have to get you to a hospital."

T2 just nodded. Petya slowly helped him to his feet. They set off together.

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Alicia slowly put her hands on the railings. She was standing at the edge of the Royal Gardens overlooking the dried up waterfall. She sniffed.

"My life has been nothing but trouble." she said to herself, "Maybe it's best this way."

She stepped up onto a bench next to the railings and then up onto the railings themselves. She looked down at the ground far below.

"Maybe." she said to herself.

She gave a final sniff, closed her eyes and jumped.

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"Petya jump!" cried T2.

Petya jumped just in time to avoid another large crack. She landed with a thud on the ground.

"This is getting too weird. It's almost like this place doesn't want us to leave." she said.

"We have to find somewhere to shelter." said T2.

"You're right." said Petya.

She quickly scanned the horizon. About six hundred yards away there was a large marble ruin sticking out of the ground.

"There." she said, "Come on."

They both ran towards the ruin. Another crack started to open as they ran. It followed them towards the ruin. They both dived head first into the ruin as the crack swung to the side and encircled the ruin. They got up and looked around.

"Perfect!" cried Petya.

The ruin had been encircled by the crack which had now filled with lava.

"Well looks like we're stuck here." said Petya, "Any ideas T2? T2?"

Petya turned around to see T2 looking at some symbols on the ruin. He waved his hand, calling her over.

"Petya look. It's here. Look!" he said.

Petya looked at the wall. There was a small sentenced engraved on the marble. It said 'When the two become one the path shall be revealed.' Petya's heart skipped a few beats. She choked and then looked at the wall again.

"This is it!" she said, "This is the place. We have to get in.

"How?" asked T2.

As if to suddenly answer his question the ground beneath them suddenly gave way. They both fell about twenty feet and hit the ground hard. They groaned and slowly got up.

"That answer you're question?" asked Petya dusting herself off, "Come on."

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"Bio signs lost Sonic." said Nicole.

"What?" cried Sonic.

"No longer reading T2 or Petya's bio signs."

"What was the last know position?" asked Sonic.

A series of figures came up on Nicole's screen.

"Upload them to the nav computer."

"You got it."

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Sally rushed into the medical ward, tears streaming down her face.

"Please say it isn't true. Please!" she said to herself as she ran in.

Sally almost died herself when she saw Alicia. She was lying in a bed hooked up to a respirator and life support machine. A doctor came up to Sally and put his arm around her. Sally turned and started to cry into his shoulder.

"What happened?" she asked quietly through her tears.

"The guards found her lying at the bottom of the old waterfall. She wasn't breathing and hardly had a pulse when they found her. It looks like she jumped from the Royal Gardens." he replied.

"How is she?" sobbed Sally.

"Not good my queen. If we had found her a little earlier we might have been able to do something. She is dying."

Sally let out a huge wail and pulled away from the doctor. She turned away started to cry again. Slowly the doctor left the room. Sally sat down next to her daughter. She stroked her hand through her daughter's hair. She closed her eyes forcing the tears to well up.

"I'm sorry Alicia. I didn't mean for this to happen." she said quietly squeezing her daughter hand, "Come back, please."

Alicia didn't respond. Sally sniffed.

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The transport landed with a thud on the ground. Tails was quick with the hatch and a few seconds later they were all standing outside.

"Woah what happened here." commented Sonic on the situation, "The Marble Zone has never been this active before."

"Ah can't see them anywhere." said Bunnie."

"Guys over here." called Knuckles.

The group soon joined them.

"Looks like that's why Nicole couldn't detect them." said Sonic peering down the hole Knuckles had found, "Let's go."

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T2 and Petya walked out of a narrow corridor into a large room. The walls were made of pure marble, polished to such a degree that the surface worked better than a mirror.

"Wow." said Petya, "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

"No way. It's incredible." replied T2.

They walked on into the hall. At the far end there was a large altar. They slowly approached it and stopped. Petya put her rucksack down and stepped up to the altar. She ran her hand along the marble. At the touch the marble suddenly changed shape. A small indent appeared in the surface and the altar glowed. Petya withdrew her hand quickly. She turned around to see that her rucksack was also glowing. T2 went over to it and open it. Inside the Power Stones and stone tablet were glowing brightly. T2 took them out.

"If the Power Stones activated the tablet then maybe they have something to do with this power you're looking for Petya." he said.

"Maybe. Bring them all up here." replied Petya.

T2 took hold of the Power Stones and tablet and brought them up to the altar. He looked at the indent then back at the tablet.

"Let me try something." he said.

T2 took a firm hold of the tablet and lowered it into the indent. It was a perfect fit. The tablet sunk into the surface and glowed. Petya went to run her left hand across the surface again. As soon as her hand touched the surface it stuck there. She panicked and tried to pull it free. It didn't work.

"T2! Help." she cried at him.

T2 got a hold of her hand and tried to pull it free. Her hand wouldn't budge.

"What's going on?" asked Petya getting rather nervous.

"I don't know." said T2 getting equally nervous.

Just then the ground gave a sudden shake. T2 wobbled and fell. His arms went out to find something to grab onto. His right hand found the top of the altar. He steadied himself and then realized what he had done. He tried to pull his hand free but couldn't.

"Damn!" he said to himself.

Just then the room gave another shake and the Power Stones started to glow. A strange feeling started to fill T2's and Petya's mind. Not even knowing what they were doing, they both reached for one half of the Power Stones. As there free hand closed around the stones, the stones gave a sharp burst of energy. T2 and Petya both screamed and came to their senses. They both looked at there free hand. The Power Stones had imbedded themselves in the palms of there hands. Strangely, they felt no pain at all. They looked at each other and stared.

"There you are!" yelled a voice.

Petya and T2 look back down the hall to see Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Bunnie advancing on them.

"We've finally caught up with you!" yelled Sonic, "Now step down here, turn over the Power Stones and we might go a bit lenient on both of you."

"We can't. We're stuck." yelled T2.

"Don't give me that." cried Sonic taking another step forward, "Now get down……yaaah!"

The ground suddenly opened up in front of Sonic. The entire floor for several feet right across the hall caved in revealing a long drop into a pool of lava. Sonic teetered on the edge for a second before falling backwards out of the way. He stood up quickly.

"Sonic!" yelled Amy.

Sonic spun to see the floor behind them caving in.

"This is bad." he said.

"Sugah hog look!" cried Bunnie pointing.

Sonic looked at where Bunnie was pointing. T2 and Petya were glowing. Sonic couldn't believe it. What was going on? Up on the altar T2 and Petya didn't understand it either. The hall was falling apart and there was nothing they could do about it. Just then the altar gave a lurch and the whole floor around it plummeted into the lava below. T2 and Petya were left standing on a small section of floor only a few feet wide.

"It looks like this is it." said T2 gloomily.

"It does." said Petya.

T2 used his free hand to hold Petya's free one.

"There's one thing I have to tell you. I…….I…..I think I love you." he said.

"I know." said Petya with a smile.

Slowly they moved closer together and finally there lips met. They kissed softly. A sudden burst of energy erupted from Petya's and T2's hands. It echoed around the room filling it with a huge light. Sonic and everyone else hit the floor. When they looked up again they just stare. T2 and Petya were encased in a large purple sphere. The sphere floated a few feet above the ground. The hall gave another shake and suddenly the floors started to regenerate. A few seconds later the floors had reformed. The purple sphere slowly faded and T2 and Petya dropped to the floor. Bunnie was first to her feet as she ran over to them. She gave then a gentle shake. She found that they felt warm to the touch. T2 groaned slightly and Petya let out a quiet sigh.

"There alright." she called to the others as they approached.

"What on Mobius is going on?!" cried Sonic.

"You'll have to ask them that Sonic." said Knuckles.

"First things first thought." said Tails, "We need to get out of here."

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After a bit of trouble the group finally managed to get above ground again. As they did Charles came running up to them.

"Sonic I see you found them." he said.

"Sure did. Weird though. I'll explain…."

"I'm afraid there's another problem."

"What is it?"

"Something's happened to Alicia."

Sonic just stared at his uncle for a second and then darted past him. The rest of the group looked at each other and followed quickly.

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Sonic flew into the palace at top speed sending several guards and numerous items toppling to the floor. He raced into the medical and screeched to a halt next to Alicia's room. He opened the door and walked in. Sally was sitting next to Alicia's bed with her eyes closed, holding Alicia's hand. She opened her eyes and looked up as Sonic entered. Sonic almost dropped dead at the sight. He walked over to Sally. She stood up and Sonic embraced her. Sally started to cry again.

"Oh Sonic. It's all my fault. If I hadn't yelled at her. If I hadn't made her feel so bad." cried Sally.

"Sally you had no idea this would happen. No-one could know." said Sonic rubbing his hand through her hair.

"It doesn't matter anymore anyway. She's gone. I'll never be able to tell her I'm sorry."

Sonic continued to hold Sally as she cried on his shoulder. A tear started to form in his eye, Alicia.

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Petya.

Yes.

Do you feel it?

Yes I do.

Well?

It's my fault it happened.

So?

So I will fix it.

Good luck.

Thank you.

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Bunnie, Tails and Amy went gloomily about there work. They knew what had happened to Alicia. None of them could believe it. Right now they were seeing to Petya and T2 who were both still unconscious.

"I don't believe it." said Tails again.

"Ah don't think anyone can. Things will never be the same." replied Bunnie.

"If I had got here sooner I might have been able to help." said Amy.

"You can't blame yourself Amy." said Tails.

"I know but……things just don't seem right." she replied.

"Ah know how you feel." said Bunnie.

Just then Petya made a slight groaning noise. Tails, Amy and Bunnie ran to her side. Petya seemed to murmur something and then her hand with the Power Stone in it glowed a deep purple colour. A small purple orb rose from her hand and Petya fell silent again. The orb rose above her and she seemed to smile. The three of them stared at the orb. Suddenly it flashed and shot through the wall. The three of them stared after it totally aghast.

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Sally was still leaning on Sonic's shoulder. Her sobs had calmed down but her eye's were still red with tears.

"I still can't believe she's gone." said Sally.

"Neither can I Sal." replied Sonic with a sigh, "We'll just have to….huh?"

"What is it Sonic?" asked Sally.

She released from Sonic and looked where he was. A small purple orb was hovering in the middle of the room. It twinkled for a moment and then shot towards them. It stopped right in front of Sonic and Sally and hovered for a moment. They both looked at it with a puzzled expression. The orb did a little loop and then shot over to the bed Alicia was in. It hovered for a moment and then expanded into a huge sheet. It slowly lowered onto the bed and Alicia. Sonic and Sally waited. Suddenly Alicia gave a small cough. Sally's eyes widened with surprise and she burst into tears.