Chapter 2: Strange Power?

Hawk opened his eyes slowly, trying to better understand the situation. He was on something soft and bouncy, which he noticed was a bed, and warm sunlight was pouring in from a window to the right. Slowly he sat up, and took in the view of a small bedroom, and by looking out the window knew that the floor wasn't very close to the ground. There was a sort of red atmosphere, and the blanket resting on his legs was tightly made to the bed, and sported patchwork patterns. Hawk looked down at his chest and spotted the pajamas he had obviously been given, white with blue horizontal and vertical lines, before feeling a sharp pain in his chest. Where was he, and how did he get there? He had badly hurt ribs…He had been unconcious…had seen violet lightning striking down those who surrounded him. As if that wasn't the weirdest thing he had ever known to happen. Then he heard footsteps. Soon a plump woman wearing an apron came in with a tray, which had a plastic cup of what looked like apple juice and a plate with a few sandwiches on it. The woman was a human! "There you go, dear, eat up, you'll need the energy!" She said, placing it by his bed. "And lie down! You've got two broken ribs, so you'd best give 'em rest!" Hawk quickly obeyed, perhaps a little too fast as he got a sudden stabbing pain. Slowly he started to feed himself some of the chicken sandwiches, wondering whether it was fate, chance, or a little of both that brought him to a town which seemed to be inhabited by humans. Then of course, he realized, there was either one or the other, only one of them could exist.

It wasn't long before Phantom turned up, for which Hawk was grateful. Sama was around not long afterwards, but it was the conversation with Phantom that Hawk found most interesting. "We may have found Eagle." He said. "I've asked around, and people say they think he lives in the mountains not far to the west." Hawk was enthralled. It wouldn't take so long after all! "What happened in the forest, anyway?" Phantom suddenly asked.

"What?"

"That violet lightning…your eyes were glowing the same colour…"

"WHAT!?"

"I'm serious! You were lying there on the ground and there was this glow coming from your eyes…it even made it through your sunglasses!"

Hawk slumped back into his bed, looking straight up…so it was he who was displaying that power…if he could learn to use it…control it…even BloodHawk wouldn't stand in the way of peace…nor would any kind of beast! It was funny though…until recently Hawk had been told that the forests and fields were peaceful places…

Hawk walked out into the town for the first time, slowly taking in everything he could sense…the smell of baking bread from across the road, the sight of the human child trying to reach into a huge crate of sweets while his father's back was turned…then he saw Sama and Phantom running along the cobblestone road towards him. "Ready to go?" Phantom asked, puffing slightly. A pair of chao, one pale blue and the other a greenish yellow, flew toward them. Paladin and Skeeter.

Hawk looked toward the chao, who were beginning to bicker over a round rock. "Yeah…I just gotta grab my bag and pay."

"Already payed. Just grab your bag and we'll see if we can make you to that lightning trick again."

Skeeter swiped at Paladin's hand, where the nice little rock was, and Paladin quickly protected his hand with his other arm. Sama didn't like this fighting much and reached out a hand to grab the rock himself, only to be bitten on the finger. As suddenly as Paladin had reacted, Sama's other hand raced to its rescue…a little late to save it, but in time to nurse it. Sama yelped in pain, hopping up and down…and suddenly there were bursts of flame from around the hovering chao, who instantly panicked and flew straight into each other's heads before dropping to the ground. Hawk took his eyes off the minorly injured chao to look at Sama…was it just him or did Sama's eyes flicker a slight red for a second? It was hard to tell because they were normally purplish red anyway…

"I think…" Phantom said slowly, tapping his chin. "I think Sama's got some kind of power, too!"

Hawk having powers was weird enough…but both Hawk AND Sama? Now that was just plain ridiculous. "Come on, Phantom. You don't honestly think that we just HAPPEN to BOTH have strange powers? I mean…it's only the least likely thing you can possibly imagine! You'd think we'd have discovered at least ONE of them by now!"

Phantom thought for a second, watching the chao panting on the ground and Sama looking around, dazed. "We did." He said calmly. What was he talking about? "We've seen Sama display his powers before. Remember when Cal had him in chains, and he was discovered to have escaped? We later found he had severe burns around his wrists. You do the math."

Hawk had already done it. Sama had melted his way free.

*****

A dark cloaked figure stood atop a ledge of rock, high up on a grey, snow-capped mountain, waiting for something…patiently…patiently…a gust of wind blew past him, knocking him back slightly and causing him to shiver. What was taking the other so long? Suddenly he heard it. The chink of metal. Slowly he walked forward and peered over the jagged edge and saw just what he was looking for. "I was wondering when you would follow me." He said coldly to the pale yellow figure below.

"Yeah, well, you ain't stuck with conventional means!" the yellow one said irritably, lifting his recovered piton gun and aiming it towards the ledge on which his associate stood. P-tunt! CHINK! Slowly he began to climb up the wall using the piton gun's rope, grunting with each step and flicking off some hot sweat half way up. Finally he threw himself forward with the aid of the wind, and grabbed the ledge's edge, struggling to pull up the rest. "C'mon! Help me out!"

"You have to exercise your strength, young one." Said the dark figure impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He hoisted himself up and walked toward the cloaked one. "This the place?" He said, looking toward the ominous darkness of the wall.

"Yes. It is important that we exercise secrecy until we have what we want…you never know who could be down there…"

The yellow echidna nodded in agreement. "True. Okay, so does that mean totally covert or just not talk about anything?"

The cloaked one stood for a second, then leaned forward, revealing his eyes to the echidna. "Both." He said suddenly, raising his eyebrows. "Don't worry…anyone spying on us will be killed…it's just best to be safe."

The dark blue armadillo cringed in his hiding place. He already had figured out what they were after…but why? Like they were going to see him let alone kill him, he never got found unless either he wanted to be or he was running for his life…but it was time to retreat into his cave and see if he could find a vantage point to attack from…and unlike others, he had no need for teammates in bad situations.

*****

Hawk looked back down the rock-cleared path to Sama and Phantom. Skeeter was taking a nice break on top of his backpack again, but despite the extra weight Hawk was enjoying himself. The air was fresh and the view of the mountainside was amazing in the sunset, which turned it a bright orange. The town of Ekasn, which they had left this morning, had a visible silhouette against the setting sun, which was turning into a view of red clouds, which was really something to turn a head. Suddenly BlueHawk realized his friends were well ahead of him and used the absorbed power of the yellow emerald to catch up and slide into the lead again. Phantom and Sama didn't seem to be enjoying the view, but that was fine, Hawk thought cheerfully as they walked down into a large dip in the road. That was their loss. Sama pretty much had no prospect on life, it just was…he hadn't the brainpower to give it any thought anyway…Phantom was fairly serious most of the time, but he enjoyed a laugh…even though really he was in constant fear of his own race, knowing them fairly well, but not knowing where or when they would strike…they did want to conquer the planet after all…what was funny was that Hawk's own brother had joined them and gained power in their ranks…did he want his own planet destroyed? Hawk looked aside and realized they had progressed much farther than he had thought, they were about a quarter of the way up the snow capped mountain and the sun was completely down, giving way to the light of the stars. Hawk wanted to stop and admire the view, but obviously they had to keep going. Maybe it was the power of the yellow emerald keeping him so active. Hawk's perception on life was a bit different to that of the others, it was slightly younger, yet at times so much more serious…he had two sides, his energetic side and his serious side…like Phantom had his serious and happy sides…but Hawk's sides were more differing to each other…more far apart. For one thing he often switched between the two randomly…now, for instance…he was suddenly in his thoughtful state again. Perhaps he appreciated views and such because he never really had that chance when he was younger, his all-time focus was on his training. When he was out of there, there was so much to see and do…Suddenly he stopped abruptly at a ledge, with a dark wall at the back. There were platforms in front of the ledge, each with great fall distances and roughly equal intervals. The dark patch in the wall that Phantom and the two chao were investigating…it was a cave. A mountain cave…could this be where Eagle lived? Apparently he lived on this particular mountain…Phantom was already inside, Sama was standing at Hawk's side. "Let's go!" Sama said enthusiastically. Hawk looked straight at him, his head at a slight angle. "That's the first smart thing you've said for a while, Sama! I was thinking your brain might be shrinking again…"

*****

BlueHawk stepped in front of Phantom Falcon, who was blundering about in the dark, to lend him aid, conjuring a bright blue, glowing, perfectly straight rod from his clenched fist, holding it like a sword and giving light. He looked around at the red earth walls and clung to the left hand side, Sama and Phantom following closely. Suddenly there was a cry from behind them and a sound like rock hitting rock. Skeeter had made Paladin drop the little round rock and snatched it up. Hawk looked at them as if to dare them to make another sound and they slunk dejectedly back toward the light of the outside. The trio continued along the path revealed by the light, gradually getting colder. Could this be Black Eagle's home? Suddenly Hawk jumped back. He'd heard a voice. Phantom jumped backwards slightly. "I got an electric shock!" he whispered. "The power in you was just activated somehow…" Suddenly he shooshed up as he heard the voice too…a cold, cackling laughter. That wasn't Eagle…but whoever it was, they were  happy…and by the sound of the laugh, that wasn't good. Hawk deactivated the Lazuli Blade in his hand and ran forward, seeing a lit room to his right. The cackling was coming from beyond that…but the room was amazing, the floor, the walls…even the roof, seemed to be covered with navy coloured velvet with lighter blue symbols on it…it was a corridor. Hawk ran down as quietly as he could, sliding slightly upon reaching the end door. Slowly he twisted the handle. It was freezing, like ice only colder, numbing, even through his gloves. Quickly he threw the door open greeted by a blast of frigid air and a room of which the walls and floor seemed to be made of ice…the roof rock, covered in stalactites, shining brilliantly. There was a passage ahead, made from rock, turning left in an even curve…still getting colder. Hawk turned swiftly at the sound of Phantom and Sama's footsteps behind him. Phantom's look said it all. Be quiet. Hawk rounded the corner into a huge chamber, constructed of ice, like a giant, long hall, with stairs at the end…and at the end was a pedestal designed precisely for holding the blue, glowing orb sitting in it…it had a white mist inside, Hawk noticed as he drew nearer. The image seemed to be of the essence of perfect, pure H20 as well as the cold that turned it solid. Then he saw the other side of the pedestal, which had markings, writing…

The pieces of the thing you seek

Lie here and places we'll not speak

For when one is taken, its rival flourishes

And only its own needs it nourishes…

The inscription seemed to end there, and had four round slots under it in a cross shape which seemed to represent compass points. It didn't really make much sense…perhaps it was a prophecy, depicting that someone would be taken and his rival put in his place? Then Hawk noticed three more doors, one at the back of the stage, and others at the sides of the hall. Ignoring his friends who seemed obsessed with the apparent prophecy, as well as the cold, he went for the right door from the stage. Inside was a small room, its floor of ice and a duplicate of the pedestal he had seen in the previous room, only smaller…it, too, had a glowing blue orb, which seemed much weaker. He picked it up and looked at the pedestal. It was melting! Soon the whole pedestal had turned into water all over the ground and a hot air vent was under it. Hawk stood there watching, transfixed. The floor, too, was melting down onto rock. It took some time, but soon Hawk was standing in muddy sand with water up to his knees…quickly he made for the door, noticing that the blue orb was gone, stepped outside and heard a strange glumm noise from back inside. He opened the door again…it was back how it had been. This time Hawk simply yanked the orb off the pedestal and ran back to the one in the main hall. "The one on the left seems to be a lot warmer than-" Phantom said, triumphantly. Hawk didn't need thirty seconds to figure it out, he ducked down and inserted the blue orb into the slot on the right and made for the door opposite the one he had been in. It was a sandy floor…he had been right. Take one, its rival takes its area for its own power…Hawk nabbed the red orb from the rock pedestal and quickly ran to slot it into the opposing place of its rival. Both orbs sat there, glowing their unique colours. Then Hawk spotted a door to the left of the passage he had entered by. Now he knew what to do. While Phantom and Sama were realizing that the glowing orb on the pedestal could not be removed, Hawk went for the back door. The walls, floor and roof were of mossy rock. Hawk plucked the glowing green orb from its pedestal and instantly the moss started to shrivel up. Hawk threw the door open to where Phantom and Sama were pulling on the blue orb together and inserted the green orb into the appropriate slot, down the bottom. Using Hawk Dash to get a head start he went straight for the door at the other end and flung open the door. Inside was another rock room, but the walls floor and roof seemed to be reflecting the electricity in the center of the glowing purple orb…there were streaked flashes all over the walls and roof. Hawk plucked the orb from its pedestal and made haste to where it was to be inserted: The top slot. Suddenly there was a humming noise and the pedestal's glow started to fade. Then it began to shrink…and the evil cackle sounded again, louder than ever. Hawk looked around, tensely. It was growing even louder. Suddenly he noticed purple smoke starting to appear above the blue orb, then once a large cloud had formed it seemed to slowly implode and get thicker…then Hawk could see what was happening. A cloaked figure was appearing in the mist…no, from the mist. He was going to take the orb.