Chapter 2 – Absorption
Sally reached the centre of the village to find T2 and Petya asleep on the veranda of their hut. Sally ran up to them shouting. Groggily they woke up.
"Uuuuuuuhhhh! What is it Sally?" moaned T2.
"Can't a girl get ten minutes sleep." yawned Petya.
"We have trouble." said Sally quickly, "It's the……"
"….THE CHAOS ZONE!" said T2 and Petya sitting up quickly.
"How did you know?" asked Sally shocked.
T2 and Petya looked at each other and then at their hands. The Deep Power Stone was glowing brightly.
"That's how." said T2 looking back at Sally.
"Come on T2. We have to move." said Petya spring up from her chair.
The three of them turned and ran over to a large hut they used for meetings. They entered to find Charles, Miles and Alicia were already there.
"You're here." said Charles, "Good."
"What's going on Charles?" asked Sally.
"Yes what's going on?" said another voice.
Everyone looks to see Sonia, Manic and Chalk entering behind them. Sonia was wiping the remains of a mudpack of her face.
"We have big trouble…." began Charles.
"Bigger than you think!" cried a voice.
They all turned.
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Bunnie walked across the clearing in the middle of the village. She yawned heavily and sat down on a bench. She leaned back as the suns rays made her fur tingle. She started to drift off to sleep when a shrill cry pierced the air. Bunnie shot upright and started looking around. The cry came again and she looked to the side. Her face fell at the sight. Tails was running at full sprint across the village holding Lavender in his arms. Lavender was screaming in pain. Links was hot on Tails' heels. Bunnie leaped off her seat and ran after them. She caught up to Links.
"Links sugah! What's going on? What's wrong with Lavender?" she said quickly.
"I'm not sure. She just collapsed and started screaming. Tails said it was something to do with the Chaos Zone expanding." he replied.
"The Chaos Zone!" screamed Bunnie, "This is bad sugah!"
The two of them caught up to Tails and all of them ran to the large meeting hut. Tails spun and threw himself against the door. It flew open and he ran through. Inside Charles was talking.
"We have big trouble…." he said.
"Bigger than you think!" cried Tails.
Everyone in the room turned. Sally and Sonia gasped, Miles and Alicia almost threw up and everyone else looked totally shocked. Sonia ran over to Tails as he lay Lavender down on the table. She was still curled up and screaming.
"My god! Tails what's wrong with her?" said Sonia.
"I'll explain in a minute. Right now I need some ice packs!" said Tails quickly.
"I've got that covered!" cried T2 as he shot past them and out of the hut.
Links pushed his was to the front of the group. He stared at Lavender breathing deeply but nobody noticed. They were all staring at Lavender too. Sonia was trying desperately to make Lavender stop screaming but to no avail. T2 soon arrived back with a number of ice packs. Tails snatched a few and placed them next to Lavender's head. Her screams began to quieten slightly.
"Alright, now place an ice pack at the tip of each of her tails." said Tails.
T2 nodded and placed a few ice packs down on the table. He took hold of several of Lavenders tails and placed the tip of each of them on the top of the ice pack. Tails was doing the same. Lavender's screaming slowly started to fade away. Very soon she was merely breathing heavily. Her eyes started to flutter and she fell asleep. Everyone looked at Tails.
"What did you do?" asked Chalk.
"Lavender is the protector of the Vault of Forever. She can feel the planets energy and is very sensitive to any changes. The end of her tails and the mark on her forehead act as receptors to this energy. If you cool them down enough and make them go numb they stop working and she can't feel anything anymore. This generally makes her very sleepy. I've used this technique before to calm her down when she got scared." said Tails.
"What's wrong with her?" asked Sally.
"We had best start at the beginning." said Tails sitting down, "Charles, you best go first."
Charles looked at Lavender again and then at Tails. He nodded.
"Alright then. Since everyone is here I best start at the beginning too." he said.
He walked over to a computer and switched it on. A series of diagrams appeared.
"This is what I got when I last check my computer. As you know we have been monitoring the Chaos Zone ever since it's creation. Until now it has been stable but not anymore." said Charles.
"Wait a minute." said Links, "What is this Chaos Zone?"
Everyone turned to look at him.
"I've heard of it but no-one has explained it too me properly." continued Links.
"Very well." said Charles, "The Chaos Zone was created three years ago when Robotnik used an altered version of Snively's Chaos Cannon to shatter the seven Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald. When he did this the energy the Emeralds held was released. This energy spilled out onto the surface of Mobius creating the Chaos Zone. We know little else about it."
"That's what I was talking about earlier." said Tails, "When the energy was released it escaped from the Vault of Forever. This sudden loss of energy almost killed Lavender when it happened. She's very sensitive to any change in the planet's energy."
"I see." said Links leaning back in his chair.
"Right." said Charles, "As I was saying. The Chaos Zone has been pretty stable, expanding a few feet and shrinking back soon enough. But not now. These reading indicate a change in its behaviour."
"What kind of change?" asked Manic.
"A big one. The Zone expanded by three miles in less than twenty seconds this morning." said Charles.
"WHAT?!" cried Sally.
"That's not possible!" cried T2 jumping to his feet.
"I didn't believe it myself T2 but it happened. Not only that but the Zone is now expanding at a rate of twenty meters every twenty four hours." said Charles.
"Oh ma stars!" said Bunnie slowly, "What do we all do?"
"Well I know what I'm going to do." said Tails standing up, "I'm getting the Hurricane ready. I'm going to have a look at this first hand."
"But what about Lavender?" asked Petya.
"I'll look after her." said Links suddenly.
Everyone looked at him in surprise. Tails nodded at him.
"Alright then. Let's move." he said.
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"Most interesting." said Robotnik as he leaned over a display.
He turned round slowly. Behind his stood Sonic and Amy. Both robots bore the scars of a few battles but Robotnik was pleased. They had both served there use so far and due to a few careful precautions, hadn't been caught by the Freedom Fighters. Robotnik looked at Sonic. Sonic stared back with red eyes.
"Sonic. You are to report to sector twelve and report on the current situation. And if you should discover any guest….eliminate them." said Robotnik.
Sonic turned and in a blur shot from the room. Robotnik then turned to Amy.
"You will stay here in case any of our friends decided to show up."
Amy remained where she was. Robotnik turned away and looked at console again. Every since his cannon shot had produced these unexpected results he had monitored the Chaos Zone and taken a keen interest in it. Now it was expanding and he was sure there was some force behind it. He was also sure that the Knotlake Freedom Fighters would go to investigate too. He just had to bide his time.
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Tails flicked a switch and the door to the hanger slid open. The runway extended outwards and locked into position. He put the control pad down and walked over to the Hurricane. Sally, Charles and T2 where standing next to it. Sally was looking at him nervously as he walked over.
"Tails, you sure you want to do this?" she said.
"Sure? No. But I have to. We need some solid information on what's going on." he replied.
"Be careful Tails." said T2 holding up his left hand with the Deep Power Stone in it.
"As always T2." said Tails putting his left hand in T2's.
There was a soft glow and Tails seemed to grow in size slightly. The glow faded and Tails released his hand. He nodded at T2 and began to climb into the cockpit of the Hurricane. Charles grabbed his arm.
"Careful out there Tails. The Chaos Zone is very unpredictable at the moment and Robotnik probably knows of it too." he said.
"I will be." said Tails as he climbed into the cockpit and strapped himself in.
He flicked a few switches and the engines of the Hurricane flared into life.
"Better stand back." said Tails over the noise.
Sally, Charles and T2 stood back against the side of the hanger. Tails looked forwards out of the hanger. This would be the first time he had flown the Hurricane. The first time he tested his runway. He just hoped it all worked. He increased the thrust and the Hurricane started to accelerate out of the hanger and up the runway. Tails flicked on the afterburners and pulled back on the stick. The Hurricane slowly left the runway and flew off. Back in the hanger Sally looked out after the plane.
"I just hope he'll be alright." she said.
"He'll be fine Sally." said T2 putting a hand on her shoulder.
Sally turned and smiled at him. T2's words always held a great truth to her. T2 and Sally stood looking after Tails plane for a few minutes before turning away and heading back into the village.
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A fast moving blue blur shot out of the undergrowth and continued on. This image was once a symbol of freedom but was now feared across all of Mobius. The blur didn't falter at all, it just continued on, its mind fixed on one thing only.
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Bunnie leaned over and brushed her hand through Lavender hair. She sighed as she looked at the kitsune. Links and herself had moved Lavender from the meeting hut back to Tails hut. Lavender lay on her bed in a deep sleep surrounded by ice packs. Bunnie was worried. Not only about Lavender but about Miles and Alicia too. They had been in earlier to see how Lavender was doing and their distress had been evident. Strangely enough she was also worried about Links. He had been acting strangely for a while now and Bunnie was unsure why. Just then Links walked back into the room holding another ice pack.
"Sugah we don't need anymore." said Bunnie.
Links just grunted at her and put the ice pack down next to Lavender. He stood up and sighed. Just then there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" said Bunnie.
"Em….us." came a small voice.
Bunnie recognised the voice, it was Miles. She got up and walked over to the door. She opened it and looked out. Miles and Alicia stood on the doorstep with Chalk. Chalk looked a little worried too.
"Is she any better?" asked Alicia trying not to sound worried.
"She still sleeping." said Bunnie.
"She'll be ok though?" asked Miles.
"Like I said before, yes she will." said Bunnie.
"See nothing to worry about." said Chalk putting a hand on each of Miles and Alicia's shoulders.
Bunnie looked back into the room. Links was busy seeing to Lavender. She turned to him.
"Think you can manage on your own for a while sugah?" she said.
Links looked up and nodded at her once before turning back to Lavender. Bunnie nodded to herself and turned back to Miles and Alicia.
"Come on you two." she said, "Let's go and find something to take your mind of this."
With that Bunnie stepped out of the building and walked off followed by Miles, Alicia and Chalk. Links looked up slightly as the door closed and then looked back at Lavender. Lavender murmured slightly and almost rolled over but Links stopped her.
"You don't deserve this Lavender. You really don't." he said with a sigh.
He was worried about her. More worried than he had been in a very long time. Since Alindel had been killed he had gone into hiding and hadn't shown his face to anyone for many years. Then he had joined the Freedom Fighters and he suddenly had people who cared about him….and most of all a friend. Links hadn't had a true friend in over eleven years and now she was lying in a bed like this. Links shook his head. He still didn't really know what this Chaos Zone was, nobody did. This was annoying him. He liked to know as much as he could and what he didn't know was always on his mind.
"If this Chaos Zone is causing this then I'm probably the best suited to deal with it." he said to himself.
Links blinked and then looked at the door. He made a move to get up and then looked back at Lavender. He took another look at the door and then looked back at Lavender again. He placed a hand on Lavender's head.
"I'll be back Lavender. You have my word." he said.
Links stood up and walked over to the door. He opened it and walked out.
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Tails decreased the throttle slightly and the Hurricane began to cruise along. He had missed this. Tails loved to fly but due to his robotisation and his other planes being destroyed he hadn't been able to fly properly in three years. The wind rushed past his face making it tingle. He sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling. A rather irritable buzzing noise snapped his wake. He looked down at the display in front of him. It showed a large circular line and a small red dot approaching it.
"Nearly there." said Tails to himself.
Tails looked up to see a faint purplish glow on the horizon. What is going on? He thought to himself.
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Bunnie was feeling much more cheerful as she walked back across the village a few hours later. Miles and Alicia had finally stopped worrying about Lavender. Bunnie was still impressed that they cared so much. She sighed as she pushed open the door to the hut Lavender was in.
"Links! Hey Links, where are you?" she called into the hut.
There was no response. Bunnie looked slightly puzzled and then entered the hut. She called again but got no response except a small groan.
"Lavender!" she said to herself and raced into the room where Lavender was.
Lavender was beginning to stir and Bunnie could see why. The ice packs around her had started to cool down. Bunnie gasped and quickly picked up some fresh ones. Suddenly Lavender screamed. Bunnie almost died of shock but managed to compose herself and run to Lavender's bedside. Lavender was now whimpering loudly. Bunnie started to replace the ice packs.
"Don't you worry sugah. You'll be ok." she said reassuringly.
"Where…….argh……..where is Links?" whimpered Lavender slowly.
Bunnie thought for a moment. Where was Links? She didn't know herself.
"He's……he went……..err…..he just went to get something probably." replied Bunnie very unsure of herself.
"He's not here!" moaned Lavender, "I can't feel him! He's gone. He left me! I never thought he would."
"Hush sugah. Take it easy."
Bunnie replaced the last of the ice packs and they immediately started to have an effect.
"I……..want Link. Links……." said Lavender softly before trailing off.
Bunnie sighed heavily and then stood up. Had Lavender been right about Links? Had he actually left? If he had, where had he gone? She had to find out. Bunnie got up and quickly left the room.
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Tails was in shock as he stared at the scene below him. The Chaos Zone certainly had expanded…….a lot! It must have increase two fold in size already and it was continuing to expand. Tails watched as the energy field enveloped a small copse. He was safe up here though. The Chaos Zone hugged the ground, rising to no more than half a miles at its highest point. If you were in the air you were safe but even this safe area was in danger. Not only where huge bolts of energy shooting off the zone in random directions but if the zone kept expanding it would soon cover the entire planet. And not even Tails could stay in the air forever. He looked down again at the Zone. Just then there was a blip on his radar. It was only there for a brief second but Tails recognised it for what it was. Only one thing made a radar blip like that. He violently banked the Hurricane to one side as a huge laser beam carved its way out of a small forest and nearly took off his port side wing.
"SONIC!" cried Tails as he banked the plane again, "Time to test the attack mode!"
Tails quickly flipped a switch in the cockpit. There was a murmur and several hatches open in the fuselage. A number of large laser cannons folded out of each of them. Tails flicked another switched marked "burn". The engines suddenly flared and the Hurricane's speed increased three fold in a matter of seconds. Nothing could hit him if he was going this fast, but could he? He banked the plane in the tightest arc he could and activated the cannons. Another beam shot out of the forest below him. It narrowly missed the tail of the plane but it enabled Tails to get a fix. He pressed the fire button. A barrage of small laser fire shots flew from the four cannons. Tails pointed the plane downwards slightly and strafed the ground for about two hundred meters around the area the laser blast had come from. The shots pounded into the trees, tearing them apart and throwing up a lot of dirt and dust. Tails was sure Sonic hadn't been there though. He was just too fast. This was confirmed by another blast coming out of the trees to his right. He wasn't quite ready for it and the beam sliced through the starboard wing of the plane. It gave a lurch and several dials went red but she still remained under control. Tails nodded hard to himself. He had built the Hurricane to survive powerful blows and that just proved it. He banked the plane and fired again. His reward was another blast from below and to his rear. The beam hit the rear of the plane just in front of the tail. This is it thought Tails. There's no way I'll survive this. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable explosion. It didn't come. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The beam was still striking the tails but it was merely a beam of light, there was no energy to it! Tails was amazed, what was going on. He spun the plane to get a clear view. The beam was dying off now and fading. Just then there was a bright flash from the forest below and then nothing. Tails blinked. He continued to circle the plane for a few moments but nothing happened. Sonic's attacks had stopped.
"What is going on?!" he said to himself.
He looked up to see that the Chaos Zone was approaching the area where he was. He made a quick judgement call and dove the plane towards the ground. He slowed the plane down and flicked a switch. Several vertical landing jets activated on the bottom of the plane and it sunk down into the forest with a soft thud. Tails quickly removed his helmet and opened the cockpit. He was at his most vulnerable now. He jumped out quickly and looked around. Everything was eerily still. Tails didn't like it. Sonic wouldn't just stop attacking. He slowly walked forwards into the forest stopping every now and then to listen. He heard nothing. Tails pushed a small bush out of the way and stopped dead. His heart must have skipped several beats. Lying on the ground was a blue coloured robot. It was Sonic alright but he was glowing yellow! Tails rushed forwards but still carefully. He got within a few feet of Sonic and stopped. What was going on? He slowly approached and felt a surge of energy he had only felt once before. Although he was still robotisised, Tails' eyes lit up a fiery red colour. He slowly placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder and rolled him over. He was out for the count. Tails relaxed slightly and removed his hand. Just then he felt a warm sensation in his tails. He turned to see that they were both glowing red hot. He almost yelped at the sight. He was snapped out of his shock as a huge bolt of energy struck the ground about a hundred meters away. The feeling in his tails got hotter. Tails' face turned to one of fear and panic.
"The Chaos Zone!" he said quickly.
He glanced back in the direction of the Hurricane and then back at Sonic.
"I have to hurry." he said quickly.
He picked up Sonic's metallic form and turned on his heels, running as fast as he could back to the Hurricane. He reached it quickly and flung himself upwards with all the strength he could muster. Since his robotisation he had become surprising strong, like Bunnie had been once. He hauled Sonic into the spare cockpit and then fastened himself in the pilot seat. As he did another blast of energy hit the ground not more than fifty feet away. The plane rocked at the impact and Tails started to frantically press buttons. He pressed the engine ignite button but all he got was a dry splutter. He flicked it again and got the same result. He looked over at the damaged starboard wing.
"That blast must have done more damage than I thought it did" said Tails frantically, "Come on you stupid thing!"
He hit the console hard and flicked the switch once more. The engines spluttered and then spluttered again. Suddenly the engine burst into life producing a huge amount of thrust. Tails quickly placed a hand on the throttle and control stick and then increased the thrust. The plane rocked and then slowly started to rise. Tails put his left hand on the angle lever and slowly pushed it forwards. The vertical thrust slowly changed to horizontal thrust and the plane began to move forwards. Suddenly a bolt of energy shot past the plane no more than two meters away. Tails felt like a red hot poker had been jammed in his gut. At the same time the yellow glow around Sonic increased in brightness and filled the cockpit. Tails was both blinded by pain and light. He randomly pawed the control panel in front of him and finally found what he was looking for. He pressed the switch down and with a loud roar the engines flared and the Hurricane shot forward. As the plane moved further away from the Zone the pain in Tails' chest and tails slowly faded away as did the glow around Sonic. Tails glanced back over his shoulder to see the Chaos Zone violently emitting sparks. Tails turned back and took a deep breath. He banked the plane and headed for home.
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A large whirlwind slowed to a halt and exploded outwards to reveal a blue fox. He stepped forwards and looked out at the scene from the hillock he was standing on. A little over a mile away was a huge energy field that was gradually moving towards him.
"So this is the Chaos Zone." said Links to himself, "Most unusual."
Links was about to raise his staff when he noticed something strange happening. The blue gem set in the end was glowing a soft purple colour and small sparks crackled along its surface. Links inspected it closer and then raised an eyebrow.
"This is most strange. Maybe it is a reaction to the energy from the Zone?"
He looked back at the Zone and raised his staff. Another whirlwind enveloped him and sped down the hillock towards the Chaos Zone. As it approached the whirlwind sparked and suddenly exploded. Links was thrown to the ground and landed with a heavy thud. He rolled a little way before stopping and then looked up.
"What was that?!" he said to himself.
He reached out, grabbed his staff and hoisted himself to his feet. The Chaos Zone was now no more than a few hundred meters away but strangely enough no bolts of energy were directed at him. They all seemed to part to either side. Links could feel the energy around him and he took up a fighting posture. He looked around carefully. The Chaos Zone directly in front of him had stopped moving but the area to the side still was. It was like the Chaos Zone was purposely avoiding him. Links' face suddenly fell. He spun on the spot and started to run. The Chaos Zone had parted in front of him and was now closing behind him. He had to get out of its way.
He wasn't fast enough. The Chaos Zone formed up again and then continued on. Links looked around. He was standing in a bubble like area with the Chaos Zone all around him. The gem in his staff was now sparking fiercely as if it was reacting to the energy around it. Links readied his staff and started to look from side to side. Just then the sides of the Chaos Zone moved….inwards. Links was quick to react. He raised his staff and rings of energy built around the end of it. He swung it round sending out a wave of energy that collided with the walls of the Chaos Zone. The energy hit and the walls stopped. Links looked nervously around waiting to see what would happen. The walls gave a shimmer and then started to move in again. Links forced another energy wave out of his staff but it had no effect on the walls. He tried again but nothing happened. He started to panic. The walls where now only a few meters away. He could feel the energy moving through him. Just then the walls made contact with his left hand. The feeling was warm for a second before it started to a burn. Links screamed and tried to pull his arm out. He couldn't, he was being drawn in. The burning in his arm was now turning to a searing pain. He let out a loud scream but the crackling energy around him drowned it out. My god, what have I done, he thought to himself. Lavender forgive me.
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Tails landed the Hurricane rather roughly and almost buckled the undercarriage. He came to a halt and raised the cockpit lid. Petya and Manic were standing there waiting for him.
"Tails, thank god your back. We have a problem." said Petya.
"Not as big as my problem." said Tails.
He reached into the second cockpit and pulled Sonic's metal form out into view. Petya and Manic almost died of shock.
"Tails!" cried Manic, "What's going on?"
"I'll tell you later. Right now just go and tell T2 to get the de-robotisiser ready. FAST!" said Tails hoisting Sonic's form completely out of the cockpit.
"I'm there." said Petya as she turned tail and ran from the hanger shouting madly.
"Manic, give me a hand quick." said Tails.
Manic just nodded quickly and grabbed hold of Sonic. Together they both carried him out of the hanger at a sprinting pace. They hadn't gone far when Petya came running towards them followed by Sally, Sonia and T2. Sally stopped dead and turned pure white.
"Tails! What….I mean ….how…….that is…." she spluttered tears of joy welling in her eyes.
"Later Sal." said Tails as he ran past her.
The other followed them quickly. The door to the de-robotisiser hut was open and Manic and Tails charged over the threshold. Inside Charles was just finishing the start up procedure. The de-robotisiser was lit up indicating it was ready. Charles didn't need to say anything as Tails and Manic placed Sonic on the platform. The capsule was down in a second and Charles had started the procedure before anyone else had entered the hut. Sally, T2, Petya and Sonia had been joined by Miles, Alicia, Bunnie and Chalk. Everyone was there except Lavender and Links. Rings of energy were now flowing past Sonic who was still out of it. Sally ran over to the glass and pressed her nose against it, watching. There was a small bleep and part of Sonic's metal body returned to normal. Sally let out a cry of joy. Miles and Alicia looked at each other and ran to Sally's side. There was another beep and virtually all of Sonic appeared. Sally was now pressed so hard against the glass it was bruising her face slightly. Miles and Alicia just stood and stared with huge eyes. There was a final flash and the machine stopped. The capsule rose and everyone stopped and looked. It was done! Sonic let out a small groan. Sally's eyes went wide and she collapsed next to him. She put both of her hands on his shoulder and shook him.
"Sonic? Sonic wake up!" she said her emotions spilling out into her voice.
Sonic moaned again and slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Sally and suddenly bolted upright. Everyone was a little startled at this.
"Father!" cried Alicia as she flung her arms around Sonic.
Miles joined her too. Sonic was half in a daze but snapped himself out of it. He flung his arms around Miles and Alicia and pulled them close. He didn't say anything but you could see the joy on his face. Sally put her arms round all of them and sunk her head into Sonic's shoulder. A lump was forming in her throat.
"Oh god Sonic. I've dreamed of this day for so long." she said slowly.
"Me too Sally." replied Sonic speaking for the first time.
Alicia was rubbing her face against Sonic's arm and he looked over at her. The squirrel looked back at him, her face a picture of happiness. At the other side of the room everyone was watching quietly.
"What happened out there Tails?" asked Chalk quietly.
"I'm not sure myself." replied Tails, "I was flying above the Chaos Zone and then Sonic attacked. We had a short battle and then he just……stopped."
"Stopped?" asked Manic.
"Yeah it was strange. His attacks were doing nothing. I landed to find out what was going on and I found him lying on the ground glowing yellow." continued Tails.
"Yellow!" said Sonia surprised, "Why would he be glowing yellow?"
"I'm not sure but another strange thing happened too. My tails started to heat up."
T2 raised an eyebrow.
"Yes very strange but I think I understand what happened." he said.
"Really?" said Tails.
"Yes. You were going super. So was Sonic." replied T2.
"What?!" said Tails, "What do you……wait! Of course it makes sense now."
Tails understood now. He was amazed he hadn't thought of it himself. T2 nodded at him.
"Last time you went super, your tails turned into streaks of flames. I think it must have been happening again." said T2.
"But why would it happen without the Chaos Emeralds?" asked Petya.
"You forget my dear Petya." said T2 turning to look at her, "The Chaos Emeralds were all around them……the energy of the Chaos Zone."
Everyone suddenly understood. They all turned back to look at Sonic. He was standing now and talking quietly to Sally, Miles and Alicia. He looked up to see everyone looking at him. The expression on his face changed. He looked at Tails.
"Tails." he said with a sigh, "Thank you old buddy."
Tails stepped forwards and looked at Sonic. It had been so long since he had seen him. He threw his arms around his friend.
"No problem Sonic." he said releasing Sonic.
"Thank you Tails." said Sally wiping a tear from her eye, "We are a family again, thanks to you."
Miles and Alicia suddenly rushed at Tails, nearly bowling him over in the process. They hugged him tightly for a moment and then released. It all seemed to be happening so fast.
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A little while later Sonic had greeted and welcomed by everyone and they were all standing outside in the sun. Sonic was just standing there with his eyes closed.
"I haven't felt sun in over three years." he said to no-one in particular.
"Well you're free now sugah hog." replied Bunnie with a soft smile.
She smiled and turned round to find Tails standing behind her. He was looking at her with concern.
"How is Lavender?" he asked.
"Same as when you left sugah. She's still on the ice packs." replied Bunnie.
"Where's Links? I want to speak to him."
"That's another problem Tails."
"What? Has something happened to him?"
"We don't know sugah. He's disappeared, we don't know where he is."
"That's not like him though. He's never left without telling someone where he….."
Suddenly a loud cry broke the gentle silence. Everyone including Sonic spun to see who it was. Tails face fell. Lavender was stumbling across the central area of the village towards them. As she did she lost her footing and fell to the floor. Tails was by her side sooner than anyone.
"Lavender! Dear god what are you doing?! You shouldn't be up. Someone quickly get some ice packs!" yelled Tails.
"NO!" screamed Lavender.
Tails looked round at her in astonishment.
"Lavender you need….."
"NO! No more ice packs!" wailed Lavender.
The pain she was in was evident though. She was gritting her teeth hard and her breathing came in short sharp gasps. Small streaks of purple flashed across her white fur and the yellow glow at the end of her tails pulsed.
"Lavender, you should….."
"NO! STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" screamed Lavender.
Tails was stunned. Lavender had never said anything like that to him before. She always accepted what he said. Tails didn't know what to do. Lavender was trying to prop herself up and Tails offered to help. Lavender accepted his hand and slowly Tails helped her to her feet. Everyone had crowded round now.
"Lav? What's wrong?" asked Alicia slowly.
Lavender looked at her out of the corner of her eye. She closed her eyes tight and took a few deep breaths. She started to strain against something although no-one in the group knew what. She suddenly screamed and would have fallen over if it wasn't for Petya's quick movement. Lavender slowly opened her eyes and weakly smiled at them.
"Lavender what….." started Sally.
"I managed….to………to force some……energy….away." said Lavender still straining.
"Why are you doing this to yourself Lavender?" asked T2.
"Because my pain is nothing compared to his." replied Lavender.
"Who's?" asked Sonia.
"Links." replied Lavender, "He's gone! I can't feel him anymore! HE'S GONE!"
Lavender screamed and then went faint. Tails moved quickly to grab her as she collapsed. Everyone looked at each other.