Much later Lavender was feeling extremely tired. She didn't know how long she had been here but it must have been a long time. Her body ached all over and she felt weaker by the minute. The cut on her head had stopped hurting now but she knew it was still there. Arthur and Juanita were resting at one side of the dome and Lavender was watching them carefully. She had to get out of here. She just had too. She tried again to pull herself free from the force holding her. She could hardly move though. She was so tired she didn't even have the strength to yawn.
"Mum? Dad? Help me." she said softly, "I'm scared."
"Don't be scared." said a voice.
Lavender yelped and closed her eyes. She didn't just hear that did she? She shook her head.
"I am real." said the voice.
"Wha?" said Lavender totally shocked.
"I am the voice of Mobius."
"Wha?!"
"You are confused. I understand. It is normal at first."
"What is?!"
Lavender couldn't believe she was talking to this voice. It didn't seem real.
"It is normal for the protector to be confused when they first arrive."
"Y….you……you mean me?" asked Lavender nervously.
"Yes."
Lavender shook her head.
"No I'm just a kid. I'm not a protector of anything."
"You are wrong. You just don't know it yet."
"Know what?"
The voice gave a chuckle.
"You are very inquisitive. That is an excellent trait. Most useful."
Lavender was beginning to get really scared now. She didn't understand anything that was going on and she gave a small whimper. Just then she felt a warm feeling travel down her spine. It felt like hot water running down her back. It was lovely. She closed her eyes and sighed happily.
"Is that better?" said the voice.
Lavender suddenly opened her eyes quickly and became nervous again.
"Who are you?" she asked cautiously.
"I am the voice of Mobius. The voice of this world and all things on it. I speak for Mobius from this place."
"What is this place?"
"It is known as the Vault of Forever. It has existed even since Mobius was first formed. This place regulates and controls the magical forces of our world and keeps everything in check."
Lavender looked around at the dome again. She didn't know why but she understood everything the voice said. The voice spoke again but this time it was an urgent tone.
"You must stop them." it said.
"Who?"
"Them."
Lavender felt herself being moved to face Arthur and Juanita.
"How?" she asked, "What are they doing?"
"They are drawing the magical energy of this world into themselves. If they continue they will drain this world of all its energy and Mobius will become a barren wasteland. A shell of its former self. Mobius will become a dead world."
Lavender couldn't speak. She started to feel weak in the stomach.
"But what can I do?" she asked.
"You must awaken but you must do it quickly. I will help but it is you who must do it. Mobius is depending one you."
The voice went silent. Lavender let out a small whimper. Tears began to well in her eyes again. She didn't understand anything anymore. She just wished that this was all a dream like the other times and that she would wake up any moment. It didn't happen though.
"Awaken? I don't even know what that means?" said Lavender softly to herself.
She suddenly went tense and almost screamed as a searing blast of heat shot up her back and into her head. The mark on her head flashed brightly. She suddenly felt lightheaded again. Her eyes closed slightly. Help me mother she thought as she passed out again.
-----------------------------------------
Amy suddenly went tense and stood up straight.
"LAVENDER!" she cried.
Sonic, Tails, Manic and Sonia looked at her and stared.
"Amy?!" said Tails.
Amy was just standing there staring at the wall. Tails took a hold of her shoulders and shook her.
"Amy?!" he said again.
Amy snapped out of her trance and looked at him.
"I heard her." she said, "I heard Lavender."
Tails looked at her with concern.
"Amy…."
"I know what you're going to say. I know I heard her. It was as clear as if she was standing here." interrupted Amy.
"But how is that possible?" said Sonia.
"I don't know. Petya and T2 can talk to each other like that. But I haven't ever done it."
"What did she say?" asked Manic.
"Just help me mother."
Amy shook her head. The five of them were standing outside the palace. The walls were even more cracked and crumbled and not one tree or flower existed within sight. The Twister was parked nearby. Amy was almost ready to go back to Little Planet to try and find out more about the Order of Pholon Tails put an arm around Amy's shoulders.
"I'm sure we'll work it out." he said.
Amy threw both of her arms around Tails and hugged him.
"I'm so scared Tails. What do they want with her?" she said.
"I don't know."
Tails clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"But when I find them I will bring Lavender home!"
-----------------------------------------
"Only the final few drops of energy now." said Juanita.
"Yes. The Master Emerald, the Time Stones and the Deep Power Stones are all that's left." replied Arthur.
They looked at each other for a moment and then back at the glowing lights on the wall.
-----------------------------------------
Bunnie charged into the palace. She had been out checking on various things and was now searching for Knuckles. She found him running his hand across the Master Emerald. He looked up as she came in.
"Everyone's ok." said Bunnie.
Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good. I was afraid that the emeralds sparking out might have had some reverse reaction."
He looked back at the Master Emerald.
"It that thing ok?" asked Bunnie.
"Thankfully yes. The Master hasn't shown any sigh of trouble. It's a good thing too. If this thing went dead the whole island would fall."
"Ah know sugah." replied Bunnie.
She smiled and walked over to Knuckles. She flung an arm round his shoulder. He jumped slightly and then relaxed.
"That'll take some getting use to." he said.
"Ah well sugah. You'll learn." teased Bunnie.
Knuckles smiled awkwardly.
"I guess." he said with a shrug as he turned back to the emerald.
Bunnie leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. Knuckles turned a darker shade of red. He blinked and then looked at Bunnie.
"And that'll take even more getting used to."
"Well you decided to go for it. Now ya'll have to face the consequences."
"Yeah…..great."
Knuckles looked away from the emerald for a moment and closed his eyes. Just then there was a rumble and the ground shook. Knuckles found himself on the floor in a heap before he opened his eyes. Bunnie was on the ground next to him. He helped her up.
"What was that?" asked Bunnie.
"The island shook!" said Knuckles.
He quickly spun to look at the Master Emerald. His jaw almost hit the floor.
"NO!" he cried.
The Master Emerald was pulsing, rings of energy irradiating from it. Knuckles ran over to it but was thrown back by an invisible force. He hit the ground and looked back at the emerald. It gave a final pulse and then stopped. Its green colour slowly faded to gray and it sat there lifeless. Knuckles ran over and put his hand on it. He spun round to look at Bunnie. His eyes were wide and he spoke quickly.
"Hold onto something!" he said frantically.
Bunnie grabbed onto a nearby Chaos Emerald and Knuckles took hold of the Master Emerald stand. The island gave a huge lurch and then fell. About thirty seconds later the island hit the sea below. The whole island shook at the impact and a huge tidal wave irradiated from where it had hit. Knuckles picked himself up from where he had been flung. There was a small cut on his left arm but it was nothing. He looked over at Bunnie. She was lying slumped in a corner of the room. Knuckles ran over to her. She was out cold but otherwise all right.
"This isn't good." said Knuckles to himself nervously.
He reached for his comm unit. He pulled it out to find it smashed to pieces.
"Not good at all."
-----------------------------------------
"If it's not one thing it's another!" groaned Sonic.
He looked at his medallion again. It was glowing even brighter now as were Sonia's and Manic's. They had been getting brighter and brighter since the early hours of the morning.
"This is really getting strange now." said Sonia.
"I'll say." said Manic, "Strange things are too common at the moment."
"You're right Manic. It seems that all the magical energies of Mobius are increasing in power. Our medallions, the Chaos and Master Emeralds and the Deep Power Stones." said Sonic.
"Don't forget those Time Stone things." said Sonia, "Amy said they were acting strange too."
"She did. I just hope everything is ok." said Sonic.
Just then two orange foxes walked into the room. One of them was leaning heavily on the other and looked completely shattered.
"Help." said Tails.
Sonic didn't need a second call. He rushed over. Tails was fine but T2 looked like he had just spent the last week without sleep. His eyes were only half open and Tails had to hold him tightly to stop him from falling over.
"What happened?" asked Sonic.
"Dunno Sonic." replied Tails, "We were talking a while ago and then I left to see to something. When I came back he was lying on the floor."
Tails lay T2 down on a nearby couch. Sonia started to look him over. The Deep Power Stone in his palm wasn't glowing. It wasn't doing anything. T2 slowly open an eye slightly and tried to speak. Sonia turned round and waved her hand.
"Shh you guys. He's trying to speak." she said.
They all went quiet and Sonia leaned over and tried to hear.
"P….Pe….Pet…..ya." T2 said quietly before going silent.
Sonia stood up and turned round.
"What he say sis?" asked Manic.
Sonia spun towards Sonic.
"Sonic get on the comm and find out how Petya is." she said frantically.
Sonic's eyes widened as he understood what she was saying. He pulled his comm out and was about to switch it on when it buzzed. He almost screamed at the timing. He switched it on.
"Yes?" he answered frantically.
"Sonic. Get down here quick. Petya has passed out." came Sally voice.
"Oh no!" said Sonic looking up.
-----------------------------------------
Lavender watched as Juanita and Arthur stopped again. She whimpered slightly. She knew what they had just done.
"That will deal with those annoying keepers. Without the energy of the Deep Power Stones they will be as good as dead in a matter of minutes." said Juanita.
Lavender wailed. Juanita turned to look at her. She had a glow of power around her and her expression had turned even harder than it had been. As she looked at Lavender an evil smile crept onto her face.
"I'm sorry dear." she said with a smile.
Lavender wailed again and struggled.
"You killed them!" she cried through her tears.
"No. Not killed. Simply put out of the equation forever. Without the energy of the Deep Power Stone those two can't bother us again."
Juanita turned away and started talking to Arthur. Lavender whimpered again and closed her eyes.
"Uncle T2? Petya?" she whispered to herself.
Just then she felt another hot surge up her back. This time thought she didn't yelp. The surge slowly echoed outwards and filled her whole body. She began to feel lightheaded again but didn't pass out. If she could have moved she would have swayed to the feeling. She let out a quiet sigh and then found herself looking inside her mind. She suddenly stopped. What was this? She didn't remember being here before. She looked closer at the memory. She was standing in a large city. Towers of pearly white rose upward into the sky. The towers must have been at least a mile high and they stretched for as far as she could see. Below the towers lay huge areas of grass and gardens. The colours were amazing, it was even more beautiful than the Royal Gardens. She continued to stare at the city below her. Below her?! She looked down. It was then that she saw she was standing on a small ridge high above the city. A gentle breeze blew across her face. She sighed surprisingly. The breeze seemed to make her face glow with energy.
"I thought you would like that." said a familiar voice.
Lavender froze for a moment and then relaxed. It was the voice from earlier.
"Enjoy what?" she asked curiously.
"The breeze. There was a time when the wind of Mobius itself carried magical energy. That is what you felt."
Lavender was looking at the city again.
"What is it?" she asked.
"This was once the city of Aradose. It existed long back in Mobius history when the planet was still young and the population was still learning to live here. Using the magical energy of the planet they built this place. It stood for many generation before the crisis."
"Crisis?"
"See for yourself."
Lavender looked back at the city. At first she saw nothing but them it happened. There was a bright flash in the middle of the city. Suddenly the buildings lost their shine and appeared to whither. The sky clouded over and a cold breeze blew. Lavender shivered. This breeze was different to the last one. It didn't have any glow to it and was just cold and piercing.
"What's happened?" asked Lavender.
"The energy of the very foundation of the planet has been drained."
Lavender watched as the city crumbled and fell to the ground. She couldn't bear to watch it.
"Does this place still exist?" she asked.
"Yes. The city fell but the place remains. You know it as the Aquatic Ruins."
"The AR's!"
The voice continued.
"The exact date is not known but at some point the Order of Pholon managed to find the Vault of Forever, the source of all the magical energy on Mobius. They started to drain it using their skills." said the voice.
"What happened next?" she asked.
"Something stopped them. To be more specific someone. At this time the only people who could stand up to Pholon was the Acolytes." said the voice.
"The Acolytes?! You mean…..my mother?"
"Yes your mother……or her ancestors anyway. They kept Pholon in line and they didn't like it. Once Pholon found out how to open the Vault of Forever the Acolytes were in trouble. Not even they could stop all the energy of Mobius."
"Then how?"
"It was an event that happened several years earlier. A member of Pholon became very concerned with how the order was being run. He didn't think it was necessary for all the hostility between Pholon and the Acolytes. He tried to voice this but was ignored and almost killed by his own friends. He left in search of the Acolytes. After much searching he couldn't find them. He was weak and couldn't go on. He collapsed and passed out. I think this is what they were waiting for. When he awoke he was on Little Planet, then called Lan Nosi Peranti in the Acolytes language. Translated it mean 'The Planet of Dreams'. While he recovered he was helped by a young female Acolyte. Over a small period of time they began to see each other more and more. The Acolyte elders watched them closely with concern until one day it happened. The love they had for each other came out when the girl found she was pregnant. The Acolyte elders were disgusted and expelled them both from Little Planet. They lived in hiding from both of there own kind for many years. Years passed and eventually they were both forgotten. Their son grew up not knowing about his past until one night a few days before the order opened the Vault of Forever. He had a dream about the forth coming events."
"A dream?! You mean like mine?"
"Yes like yours. He didn't know why or what was happening but he did know that only he could stop it. He ran from his parents and into the world. He didn't know where he was going but he did know at the same time. A strong feeling pulled him to a certain point. When he got there a few days later he was tired and exhausted. He had gone without food or sleep for a long time and was on the verge of collapsing. It was then that he saw the Order of Pholon engaged in a vicious slaughter of many Acolytes. The Acolytes had come to try and stop Pholon but their power wasn't great enough to overcome them. They were nearly all killed but not before the boy learned his true roots. He dived into the fray to try and stop them. As he did the ground itself seemed to come alive. A split second later a huge energy field irradiated from the child. The few surviving Acolytes and all of Pholon were flung backwards by the blast. The blast rippled through the members of Pholon draining the power they had taken from the planet. All over Mobius the planet started to rejuvenate. Most members of Pholon were killed when their stolen power was ripped from them but a few of the stronger ones survived. They hid for centuries waiting for the return of the one who was the key."
"Key? They called me that."
"Yes they did. You do not realize your true heritage yet either Lavender Prower."
"You know my name?"
"Yes. I have always known it."
"How? I'm just a kid!"
"You are more than that. You forget who your parents are."
"What do you…….."
Lavender stopped and gasped. Her parents! Amy, a descendant of the Acolytes and Tails, the son of her captives.
"Y….you mean……..Arthur and Juanita are members of?" she asked totally struck by awe.
"Yes they are both members of the Order of Pholon."
"Then I'm…….I'm….."
"Yes. You are this times equal to that young boy."
Lavender virtually swallowed her tongue. It couldn't be true, could it? But then there were the dreams and this and…….
"I see you are beginning to understand." said the voice.
"But why did they need me to get here? You said Pholon opened the Vault all by themselves."
"Yes I did. The first time the combined power of all the members was enough to open the vault but then nearly all of the order was killed and those who survived were not enough to open the vault. Those two are the only ones left now. It was my hope that they had forgotten about this place but obviously not. They were simply waiting. They were waiting for an opportunity to come here again. When Tails was born his parents were disgusted at him. Pholon had always been an order of purity. In their eyes your father was a freak and they abandoned him. They continued to wait. It was not until a few years ago that their hope was rekindled. Your mother who they knew to be Tails girlfriends found out she was a descendant of the Acolytes. When you were born they started to make plans. They used you to channel their powers and break through into the Vault. It was a child of both sides that stopped them last time and it was a child of both sides they needed to open the vault again."
Lavender still couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"But how do I do this? Whatever it is I'm supposed to do?" she said.
"You will know when the time comes. You will know."
-----------------------------------------
Amy growled to herself as she searched through the Acolyte records. The Time Stones were still acting strangely and this worried her. On top of that she was worried about Lavender ands what had happened to her and she was worried about Miles too. She had been searching through the records since she had arrived at Little Planet about an hour ago. It had only been about half a day since Lavender had been kidnapped but Amy was still worried sick. She knew that she had heard of the Order of Pholon before but she couldn't find anything in the records. Just then her mother came in holding a cup of tea.
"Amielle?" she said cautiously.
Amy turned round and sighed.
"Hello." she said.
"Amielle. Come and have a sit down for a while. Your father and I are worried sick about you."
"I can't mother. I'm too scared about Lavender to stop. I have to find out where she is. This lead is the only one I have. I have to follow it and quickly."
"I understand dear. I'm worried about Lavender too. But if you consume all of your energy now you will be too tired to do anything if you find something."
Amy sighed.
"Your right mother." she said sitting down.
Her mother sat down too and put an arm around her shoulder. She handed Amy the cup of tea.
"Here. Have a drink and be quiet for a moment."
"Thank you mother." she said taking the cup, "I'm so scared."
"I know. We all are but we mustn't let fear drive us."
Amy nodded.
"Thank you." she said again.
-----------------------------------------
"I think the time has come to deal with our last problem." said Arthur.
"Hmm…..it will be tricky." replied Juanita.
"I wouldn't think so. Against all the power of Mobius not even the Time Stones can withstand."
"I agree."
They nodded at each other and turned back to the wall.
-----------------------------------------
Amy leaped to her feet, her cup of tea falling to the floor and smashing. The whole of Little Planet was shaking and the Time Stones were flashing brightly. She ran over to them and looked at them for a moment. She spun round her eyes filling with fear. She knew what this was. She ran out of the shrine and into the open. Marian followed her. Amy stopped outside and looked at the horizon. Not far away the Palmtree Panic zone of the planet was fading in and out of view. The fading gradually got closer until everything in sight was doing the same including Amy and Marian.
"What is happening?" asked Marian half knowing already.
"Little Planet is destabilizing! It's going to vanish again." replied Amy.
"How?!" cried Marian.
"I don't know mother."
Amy looked frantically about and then raced back into the shrine. Maybe she could stop it. Just maybe. As she entered the shrine she gasped. All of the Time Stones were fading in and out too. She tried to reach out and touch them but she couldn't get a hold of them. All she could do was watch as one by one the seven Time Stones blinked and went out. Their glowing stopped and Little Planet gave another shake. Seconds later Little Planet disappeared.
-----------------------------------------
"What did you say?!" cried Sonic not wanting to hear what he had just heard.
"The Floating Island……it's……..it's fallen your highness." said the messenger.
"Fallen?! You mean it's in the sea?"
"Yes sir."
"Any casualties?"
"Not on the land sir. The tidal wave didn't do too much damage. We don't know about the island though. We still haven't been able to communicate with them."
"I want a full mobilization. Get a team out there and find out what happened!"
"Yes sir!"
The messenger turned and ran from the room. Sonic spun towards Sally who was standing next him.
"If the island has fallen it only means one thing." he said quickly.
"The Master Emerald must have failed. But how?!" replied Sally.
"I don't know Sally. But it's bad whatever is happening."
"It seems that all the energy is being drained from our world." said Sally half thinking.
"Drained? Hmm…that's an interesting notion Sal. First the Chaos Emeralds go dead, then our world seems to shrivel up, then the Deep Power Stones go dead and now the Master Emerald."
"The only things not affected so far are your medallions and…….oh my!"
Sally and Sonic looked at each other.
"The Time Stones!" they said together.
-----------------------------------------
"Well we must be going now." said Juanita, "I'm sorry about your mother."
Lavender wailed and burst into tears.
"She won't be a problem any more." said Arthur, "Without the power of the Time Stones that world of hers will remain lost forever."
Juanita looked at Lavender. Her mark glowed and Lavender suddenly found it hard to breathe.
"I'm sorry dear but we cannot allow you to interfere with our plans. Thank you for allowing us access to this place and we will be sure to give your other friends a….warm welcome."
Juanita took a step back so she stood next to her husband. A split second later there was a flash and they disappeared. Lavender watched them as they left. She felt as if her heart had just been ripped out and put thought a grinder. She tried to take another breath but couldn't. The force closed in around her tighter. No she thought. This wasn't going to happen. It couldn't happen. Suddenly the mark on Lavenders head flashed and her whole body glowed. The force around her throat suddenly fell away and Lavender let out a small yelp as she fell and hit the ground. She picked herself up shakily and looked around her.
"What?" she said to herself.
"You have awakened." said a voice, "Go now. Quickly before it is too late."
Lavender was totally shocked. She blinked and a stray thought surfaced in her head. A thought of being back on Mobius. There was suddenly a flash and Lavender fell to the ground. She shook her head and looked up. She gasped. She was standing on Mobius again. The sky above her was gray and dark and the ground was brown and bleak but she knew it was Mobius. She rose her head into the air. She suddenly felt older and stronger. She knew she could do this. She had to. Her eyes narrowed and a committed expression settled on her face.