Miles and Focke-Wulf didn't waste any time in getting the battle started, the amber fox bursting towards the blue wolf with a Spin Dash as the other charged him on his hoverboard. The former jumped at the last moment, attempting to hit the nose of the latter's ride, only for the maniac to pull up just before he could take a hit. Miles uncurled from his spherical state and ducked to avoid a passing slash from the lupine's claws, fishing through his belt for something that might help.
"How do you like my Extreme Gear, foxxo?" taunted the older and crazed canid, continuing to try and tear him up with ride-by attacks, "way better than my old motorbike, I'd say. It's thanks to G.U.N.'s raid on all those old Kukku bases that tech like this is taking off!"
The fox had to admit that he was impressed at both the speed and maneuverability of the board, and briefly wondered how he could improve on such a design. However, he knew that now wasn't the time to be admiring such things. If Focke-Wulf was here, then that meant that the other members of his group had to be around somewhere.
"I'll have to make my own once I kick your tail," he responded snidely as he weaved away from each swing of those arms, "but tell me, FW, where are your pals? I know you couldn't have come here alone."
The wolf shrugged nonchalantly and chuckled. "Out looking for you still, probably. They wanted to share you, and maybe I will, but not until after I've gotten my fill of using you as a chew toy!"
"Oh, you have no idea what you're trying to sink your teeth into," Miles retorted, feeling his hand close around a familiar disc-like object in one of his belt pouches, "like I said before, I'm far beyond the little fox you fought a few years back!"
He spun his two tails just as his toes left the ground, speeding towards Focke-Wulf faster than the giggling guy could react. The fox smacked the device he'd found onto the underside of the Extreme Gear, causing several bolts of electricity to arc across the board and its rider. The wolf's form spasmed as he was shocked, but his transportation had taken the brunt of the damage, and soon fell uselessly to the ground. His fur spiked up from the experience, Focke-Wulf jumped and kicked at his board, then glared at the teen with a toothy and furious frown.
"You might have grown in some ways," he growled deeply, taking up his own fighting stance with his claws brandished, "but you're still a brat when it comes to spoiling my fun! I can hardly wait to make you scream like those morons that got in my way!"
It was at that moment that Miles noticed the blood stains and bits of viscera on Focke-Wulf's fur and accessories, as well as the odor that accompanied them. He'd been so caught up by the fact that the lunatic was here in the first place that he hadn't initially seen or smelled it. But now that he did, his fists curled in even more tightly, and he flashed his own fangs at the wolf.
"What did you do?" he demanded in a low snarl.
The other canid's scowl shifted to a sinister smirk. "Well, you heard about that deal with the Time Stone, yeah?" He raised one finger up to his maw and gave it a light suckle. "The local riff raff around where it was didn't take too kindly to me and my Gear. Unfortunately for them, I was eager for a fight." With a snicker, he spat to the side. "It was a pretty poor showing on their part, very messy. But, I was satisfied enough to hold off on gutting your friends until they brought you back!"
Focke-Wulf's head was forced to turn as he received a punch right in the side of his face, the sight of a furious fox in the corner of his eye. The real power of the blow kicked in a second later, sending him flying for several meters until his back smacked against a tree. He barely got a chance to slide down before his chest fur was seized in both of Miles' hands, his vision spinning as the fox swung him around and over his head, then slammed him into the ground. The kid flipped over him with a Rolling Jump and landed right on his gut, making him gag and cough up a bit of his own blood.
Miles was hardly finished, though, yanking Focke-Wulf to stand so that he could slug him in the face again, this time making the latter stumble back. His excitement at getting a chance to fight the fox again was quickly changing to anger and confusion, as well as a tinge of fright. Not only was Miles striking him faster and harder than expected, but Focke-Wulf was really starting to feel the pain. He knew that he wasn't as durable as someone like Bearenger, but to be this beaten up after only a few attacks? Just how much had this boy been improving since they last clashed?
"Let's get one thing straight, you psychopath," Miles told him in a low and dangerous voice, making sure the others didn't hear, "I don't have time for you and your gang's petty revenge nonsense, okay? I have bigger things to worry about, otherwise I'd really kick your teeth in for what you did!" He took a few steps closer, loudly popping his knuckles. "But since I'm in a hurry, I'll make this quick."
With that said, he reached forward and yanked on one of the wolf's arms as he drove his other elbow into the bigger canid's sternum. Focke-Wulf's pupils shrank to pinpricks, and his head lolled back as he grunted out painfully. Miles let go of him and watched him slump to the ground, alive but unconscious, and in for some serious soreness when he woke up later. The teen took in several deep breaths to calm himself, as well as help him recover from the back-to-back fighting, then started walking back over to Amy, Cream, and Cheese. He caught a whoosh of air in his ears just as he'd taken a few steps, whirling around to see what it was.
That hyena, Khal, had strode up to Focke-Wulf and summoned a khopesh in his hand, ready to deliver a coup de grace to the downed maniac. Those silver eyes widened when Miles dashed back over and blocked his blow with the Pikkon Hammer, the fox's arm struggling against the bigger mammal's raw strength.
"What are you doing?" the spotted guy inquired with some annoyance.
The two-tailed fox narrowed his eyes. "I could ask you the same thing. He's already down and out!"
"Precisely the time to end a threat," Khal replied firmly, putting more weight into his weapon arm, "you would be better off finishing him here, given what he's done."
"I won't let you kill him," Miles answered just as vigilantly, digging his heels into the dirt, "I don't care if you're doing this to help me, that's not how I do things!"
The two growled and kept at a standstill, neither wanting to budge, whether physically or figuratively. After several moments, Cream decided to step forward.
"Please stop fighting, you two!" she begged them with her hands clasped, causing them both to turn her way, "for Little Planet and the rest of the world, we need to work together."
Seeing the earnestness in the girl's plea, Khal relaxed his weapon arm and drew his blade away from Miles' hammer. The teen soon did the same, though he was certain to give those gray eyes a keen glare with his own cyan-blue ones. The hyena simply snorted.
"I think that you're making a foolish mistake letting that one go," he told the fox bluntly as he gestured at Focke-Wulf, "but your friend is right, so I'll table this matter for now."
He dismissed his khopesh, then walked over to join the others, with Miles quickly shuffling past him. Even if he was responsible for bringing him and Cream back from the future, and keeping Amy safe up to now, he still didn't trust this guy. At the same time, he couldn't dismiss those actions, so he kept his mouth shut. Still, he would stay wary while they continued their quest.
"Let's keep going," Miles told the others, "we can't let Little Planet get too far."
The rest of them aside from Amy got to see Khal's ability firsthand, and while it had given them pause, the younger girl assured them it was fine. Again, not the most bizarre thing any of them had seen, but it certainly wasn't commonplace. Soon enough, the five were running–and flying, in Cheese's case–at a fairly brisk pace, hurrying after the planetoid as it continued to drift towards the mountains to the northeast. After a few minutes of silence, and once they'd reached a more open space, the fox turned to Khal and Amy, the latter of whom was holding the green Time Stone.
"Hey, Amy, may I see that?" he asked her.
The hedgehog girl glanced down at it for a moment, then handed it over to him. "What're you going to do with it?"
"I'm going to make a modification on my multitool," he informed her, pulling out the Miles Electric with his other hand, "by readjusting the Emerald Radar to detect temporal energy, it'll make finding the rest of the Time Stones much easier."
Khal cocked his brow curiously. "You can do that?"
"It should be a cinch," the fox replied confidently.
Miles set about doing just that, his eyes continuously shifting their glance between the Time Stone, the Miles Electric, and the terrain in front of him. He tried feeling out the power of the green gem, but it didn't work the same as it did for his Emerald. He couldn't force it out; he could only let it flow through him. Of course, he didn't expect to be able to control it in the same way that their strange new companion apparently could. That, along with many other things, did make him wonder...
'What's your connection to all this, Khal?' he asked himself.
There were many things in life that made Bearenger a very angry grizzly bear. Whether it was Focke-Wulf's annoying laughter, Carrotia's spaciness, that old hag telling him what to do, or anyone not taking him seriously. That fox had been one such punk to underestimate him, and if he hadn't gotten lucky, he would've been just another tally in the ursine's number of victims. To be beaten by such a scrawny brat was an embarrassment that he would never let stand!
Thus, when he and Carrotia found Focke-Wulf knocked out with his Gear disabled, his temper flared up good.
"You idiot!" he shouted down at the wolf, who currently had his head cradled by the rabbit, "trying to get ahead of us in line for thrashing that whelp, and look what happened!"
His other partner tilted her head a bit, waving one hand in front of the conked out wolf. "I don't think he can hear you, Bear Bear."
"Don't call me that!" Bearenger snapped at her, waving one fist threateningly, "and I'll yell at him if I damn well want, even if he can't hear me!"
Carrotia either ignored or didn't notice the potential danger behind his gesture. The bear's head felt like it was on fire from how hot his anger had made it, and his partner's clueless nature wasn't helping. But, in a rare moment of clarity, he recognized that he shouldn't be wasting his breath and energy on berating Focke-Wulf. No, it would be far more productive to take it out on the real source of much of his current bout of rage.
"Whatever," he grumbled, getting back on his own Gear, "I'm not in the mood to deal with Wulf's stupid snickering ass. You take care of him and get his board working!"
Carrotia hummed at him curiously. "What're you going to do?"
"Go after the fox, what else!?" he yelled irritably, pointing over at several disturbances in the nearby grass and soil, "all I gotta do is follow that and I'll find 'em! And once I do, I'm gonna make a bowling ball outta that pipsqueak's head! If I find his friends first, then they get to kick the bucket before he does!"
His shark-themed board tore off at breakneck speed, keeping close to the trail that his quarry had left for him. Despite what had happened to Focke-Wulf, he wasn't worried about what might occur when he caught up. He was a lot tougher than that puny lupine was, so he figured he would be fine.
"Wow, it's so pretty," Cream remarked at the sight before the group, "I've always wanted to come to White Park."
Just as the sun was fading into the horizon, leaving behind an orange-red glow, there was another source of similar light coming from below. Miles and company had crossed over a few high peaks and arrived at a valley that contained an enormous, colorful amusement park. An immense roller coaster dominated much of the space, though there were other attractions as well, such as swinging ships and Ferris wheels. A small village was nestled close to the park with a frozen lagoon on its borders, and it was all surrounded by a sprawling evergreen forest.
While Miles had an adequate layer of fur, and Khal seemed to be able to weather the elements well enough, Cream's coat wasn't doing as much for her as she would've liked. And then there was Amy, who was trying very hard to not appear like she was freezing from the snowy climate. For their sake, they had to move quickly and get them someplace warm. Luckily, they were already in town, so hopefully they could rest their feet for a spell, if not grab a few things for the cold.
"There's a Time Stone in this region," Khal announced, gazing out into the valley. He'd shifted back to his bipedal form before entering the village, so as not to turn heads even more than he already was.
Miles brought up his multitool, booting up the trusty Emerald Radar app. Rather than the usual long-cut icon, a symbol representing the gem in their possession popped up on the screen. Zooming out the map, a second reading came into view, and after changing the topographical view, he was able to determine a more precise location.
"Hmm, I see," he murmured before showing the screen to the others, "there's an abundance of temporal energy near that frozen patch of water." He frowned a little bit. "I still haven't made it to where the Radar tells me what time period it's in, though."
The hyena hummed and nodded. "I should be able to determine that once we get closer."
"Wherever or whenever it is, let's hurry up before we freeze!" Amy whined, hugging and rubbing herself.
Miles chuckled a little sheepishly, having momentarily forgotten about that. "Well, it is getting late, so we should find a place to turn in soon anyway. Still, I want to find that Time Stone before the end of the night."
"Agreed," Khal concurred, "though if you'll let me, I'd like to scout ahead, or rather behind."
The fox caught the meaning behind that phrasing. Since the first Time Stone had been discovered in Sylvania's past, it made sense to try and do the same here. He still didn't quite trust the hyena, however. Khal had barely spoken on their way over, and what little he did say were things he already knew or suspected, such as helping Amy catch up to them, and the scattering of the Time Stones. If he was going to be working with this guy for the foreseeable future, or at least until the end of this impromptu adventure, he needed to know more about him so that he could trust him. Or perhaps not, who knew?
'I won't know unless I try,' Miles told himself internally.
"I'll go with you," he volunteered, turning back to Cream as he fished out a small satchel from one of his belt pouches, "here's some Rings so you guys can grab us rooms and maybe a hot meal."
The rabbit smiled and took the little bag of money gratefully. "Thank you, Miles. Be careful, and please try to get along with Mr. Khal."
"As long as he's willing to do the same," the fox mumbled.
Cream giggled at that and gave him a hug, partly to encourage him and partly because she wanted a little extra warmth in the cold. Miles hadn't been expecting it, feeling his cheeks flush a little bit, but he returned it before long. After a few moments, he saw them off, then left with Khal to head somewhere a bit more discreet. Once they were there, the hyena turned to him expectantly. The fox handed the green Stone back, albeit hesitantly, which didn't go unnoticed by the larger Animal.
Khal chose not to comment on it, though, and silently opened a rift to the Time Warp. The two of them jumped through in rapid succession, coming out the other end into a place that was both similar and different to what they'd left. While it was still nighttime, the season had shifted from a cold and snowy winter to a pleasantly cool and crisp summer. A somewhat smaller village stood in place of the one they'd left, filled with more rustic log-based buildings with stone chimneys and simple, single-pane glass windows. Rather than a massive roller coaster and other assorted rides, there was an immense logging operation, with oil lanterns and simple lighting to keep the place illuminated as work continued into the evening. The lagoon itself was much more of a lake, suggesting that it had receded and shrunk quite a bit over time.
"With equipment and architectural standards like this, it's probably around 150 years or so before the present," Miles surmised, rubbing his chin as he gave the other fellow a look, "any reason you brought us to this particular period?"
Khal shrugged and twiddled the Time Stone between his dark digits. "I just willed it to send us back, and it brought us here. I've no doubt there's a reason, but the Time Stones aren't known for being chatty."
"That reminds me," the fox said as they jumped onto the main rig of the operation and began running up a slope, "what's your role in all of this? Why are you helping us, and what's your connection to Little Planet and the Time Stones?"
They Rolled down the other side of the structure, avoiding some of the low-hanging support beams and the logs being fed into the first section of the mill. The path soon came to an end, forcing them both to leap across to another rig built to stand in the currently thawed lagoon.
"That's a bit of a long story," Khal answered, ducking around a few saws that bisected the collected wood, "but I'll try to make it as brief as I can."
The two of them popped out of that side of the mill and used their footwear to grind down the damp wood and back up the following slope. Upon seeing the way ahead blocked, they pivoted to a third platform on the complex, jumping atop a couple of sawed logs to ride along the water.
"Many years ago," the hyena began, leaping off his ride to the top of an overhang, the fox following him with a quick flutter of his tails, "I was a priest and a warrior in a sizable clan of my kind. For the sake of their future, I journeyed across the world to what you know as Never Lake." They went along the roof of that building, then transferred to an even higher one. "I'd come to try and entreat the god of fate, which was said to live in its own world that came close to the mortal realm every so often."
Miles figured that made some sense, as time and fate were often intertwined in many faiths. If there were such an entity, he couldn't think of a more fitting place for it to reside. But, that also brought up the obvious question...
"How did you get onto Little Planet?" Miles inquired as they once more switched to a different track on the rig.
Khal guided them so they ascended past a hazardous series of crushing devices that helped flatten wood into boards. They jumped a gap and slid down a decline on the other side, passing a few late-night workers faster than they could see and splashing them a bit with water in their wake. Soon, the two came to what appeared to be the main structure of the operation, though they weren't there for a tour. Wanting to save as much time as they could, Miles flew up to the top of the building while his companion deftly used the wooden supports to make the climb.
"By the grace of that same god," he answered the fox, who looked at him skeptically. The reaction made Khal smirk a bit. "I see that you're doubtful, but you and those girls have already met it yourselves."
Miles knew what he was referring to almost immediately. After all, they had only seen one living thing on Little Planet that definitely stood out.
"You mean the prismatic butterfly?" he queried.
"That's right," the other confirmed. They hopped down from the ledge and boosted through a loop, then stopped for a moment at the end of the line, the hyena staring out over the water. "It heard my prayers and brought Little Planet close enough so that I could reach it. And while the great one was willing to help my clan, there were two conditions I had to fulfill."
Miles saw a somber light in those gray eyes, which didn't give him a good feeling. But before he could ask, Khal leapt ahead to board another wood panel as it was pulled along by the water and relatively primitive automation. The fox was quick to do the same, and after a few falls and slopes, their makeshift rides came to a collection pile. From there, it was only a matter of passing over the last bit of the mill, and once they had, the two Animals arrived on the opposite shore from which they'd started.
"First, I was given the task of collecting all seven Time Stones in a series of trials," Khal resumed, "to test whether I was worthy of using their power, of course. Second, I had to return the Time Stones to the Crystal Citadel, which you've also been to. Once I fulfilled these conditions, I was allowed to use the gems' power to ensure that my clan would have a good and prosperous future." He bowed his head and smiled bitterly. "A future that I couldn't experience alongside them."
Miles tilted his head. "How come?"
"We'll get to that," the hyena assured him, "but for now, we're close to the Time Stone's location."
Hearing that, the fox pulled out the Miles Electric and double-checked the "Temporal Radar". The energy appeared to be coming from underground, nestled deep in some sort of cavern system that was connected to the lagoon. He pointed this out to the other fellow, and after a cursory search of the shoreline, they discovered the mouth of a cave. Only a few meters inside, they could see the light of the moon and other ambient sources shimming off the surface of a pool that went deeper than they could tell from their vantage.
"So, what's the verdict?" Miles asked the hyena.
Khal knelt down near the surface of the pool and let his fingers trace along the water. After a few moments, he stood back up and shook his head.
"It's not here in the past," he concluded, fishing out the green Stone from a pocket, "which means it's time to head to the future."
The memory of what he'd seen in and around the dilapidated, frozen castle made the teen shudder a bit. "Khal, what happened in the future?"
"What do you mean?" the hyena questioned, holding off a moment from using the gem's power.
Miles went on to explain just what he had seen during his jaunt through what Sylvania had become. From the cold and rotting earth, to the creatures he had fought, and the constant oppressive feeling he experienced whenever he breathed in the chilling air. Naturally, he left out the part where he'd run from that ghost, since he didn't want the older guy thinking he was a coward. By the end of it, the spotted warrior looked significantly more serious and unsettled.
"If what you said is true, then the situation's become even worse than I imagined," Khal said, hastily opening a portal to the Time Warp, "come on!"
While surprised at the sudden shift in demeanor from the hyena, Miles was quick to follow him through the gate. As they tumbled through the multicolored dimension, the fox reached for both the Pikkon Hammer and a handful of bombs. He would be prepared for whatever came his way this time.
While the boys had gone to scout for the Time Stone, the girls had secured them a room at the nearest hotel, which was much bigger than one would expect in a village like this. Afterwards, they'd gone for some late clothes shopping to grab garments better suited for the winter weather. To compliment her coat, Cream put on a pair of black leggings, and threw on a light blue scarf with yellow tips. She switched her normal gloves for pink snow gloves, and swapped her footwear for light and dark pink snow boots with white fur cuffs and gray soles.
Cheese had simply gotten itself a red scarf that matched its little bow-tie, which was adequate in wrapping itself up while also keeping its limbs and wings free. Amy, on the other hand, had gone for a full wardrobe change. She had picked out a red-violet jacket with a white waist belt and thistle hemline, similarly colored mittens with purple cuffs, and tall winter boots with pink, white, and purple trim. She'd also grabbed a short lavender winter cape, a purple beret with a red band and white puff ball, and a thistle scarf to go along with the cape.
Once they'd returned to their room with their warmer clothes, and packed away their other ones in a pair of packs they'd also purchased, the two young ladies and one Chao headed back into town. Amy was eager to head over to the amusement park and check out the rides and lights, and while Cream was happy to oblige, she had a worried look when she glanced into the Ring pouch Miles had lent her.
"Oh dear, I can't believe you talked me into spending so many Rings," she said as she rifled through the remaining Rings, "I don't think Miles is going to be very happy about this."
The hoglet beamed up at her. "Oh, don't worry about it, Cream. He might get a little mad, but since he likes you, Miles will forgive you! Besides..." She twirled around on one foot. "We're both warm and stylish now!"
"Your outfit cost nearly twice as much as mine," the rabbit grumbled as she puffed up her cheeks, then let out a sigh, "I'll have to make it up to him later."
"That's one regret you're gonna have to die with, girlies!" came a furious bass shout from behind them.
Both of them whirled about to see a very livid looking grizzly bear atop an Extreme Gear board much like the Focke-Wulf fellow they'd run into earlier. As opposed to the lupine's ever-present grin and giggling, this guy's face was stuck in a permanent scowl with his teeth bared. With that and his significantly greater size than the previous rider, he came off as a lot more intimidating, rather than just disturbing.
"Great, another crazy weirdo," Amy remarked derisively as she slowly started to back away, "one nuts enough to yell that he's gonna kill us in public! Let's get out of here, Cream!"
The bunny girl didn't need to be told twice, grabbing onto the younger girl's hand and taking off as fast as she could, while Cheese flapped its wings to keep up. Wanting to lead their pursuer away from other people, Cream ran up onto one of the roller coaster tracks that had signage stating it was closed for maintenance. It appeared to be a mostly straightforward route with little in the way of twists and turns, like it was meant to provide a scenic ride of the park and the surrounding valley. If they didn't have to worry about a murderous bear on their tails, the girls thought they'd have rather enjoyed it.
"You've got some nerve!" Bearenger roared after them, leaning forward and prepping one fist to strike, "you really think you can outrun my Gear!? Don't you dare underestimate me, you little tramps!"
The brute tilted his Gear down and lunged at them with an overhead slam, which the girls managed to just barely avoid with a timely flap of Cream's ears. The blow instead hit the track, and to the astonishment of the fleeing party, Bearenger's punch caused a sizable section of it to warp and collapse.
"Watch out!" the bunny called out to the Animals below.
There were a few screams that rang out, but from what she could see, they had managed to get out of the way and no one had seriously gotten hurt. She was relieved about that, but it brought little comfort when she knew that the grizzly could just do it again. He obviously didn't care about collateral damage, only that he took them down.
The big guy shot ahead of them and made a hard U-turn, cranking up the acceleration while he knelt down on his Gear. Just as he got close, he let his board continue on without him, nearly ramming right into the trio. They dodged it, only to be tripped up by Bearenger striking them with a Rolling Attack, causing them to fly apart. Amy went into a Roll of her own to avoid the worst of her fall, landing on the crest of a slope and coasting down the track until she could right herself again. Having taken the brunt of the hit, Cream felt a dull ache spread throughout most of her body, which was only exacerbated by the hard fall into the planks and rails. Their attacker bounced up into the air and flipped around with surprising agility for his rotund bulk, sticking a three-point landing on his Gear and doing an about face.
Amy hurried to Cream's side and brought out the mace that Khal had handed off to her in Sylvania's past, putting herself between the rabbit and the bear. She glanced back to her friend with a determined expression in those emerald green eyes.
"Cream, I know you don't like fighting," the hedgehog said sympathetically, "but we can't just run away! This jerk's going to chase us until he gets us, and he doesn't care how he does it!" She laid her weapon over one shoulder while balling her other mitten into a fist. "We can't count on Miles and Khal to bail us out all the time, so we've got to knock him down ourselves!"
Cream knew that her young friend had a point, but she was still hesitant to use force. Amy didn't wait for her, however, and instead charged at Bearenger, the mace held high over her head while she let out a battle cry. The grizzly wasn't amused by the display; if anything, it only made him angrier seeing this little girl try and take him on.
"That's not gonna help ya!" he snarled, homing in on the hedgehog at a swift pace.
The pink spiny girl kept her eyes on the distance between her and the bear, then made her move once he was close enough. She vaulted high into the air, higher than Bearenger's head, and front-flipped with her mace in tow. The ursine's broad fist just missed her with this maneuver, but Amy was at the right angle to bring the head of her weapon down onto his head. He didn't fall off his board or drop onto his face, though he did clutch at that spot in pain and fix her with an enraged stare as they passed each other.
"Damn it!" he swore, veering his Gear around and putting the figurative pedal to the metal, "thought you could cave my head in with that, huh!? Where does a little bitch like you get off thinking you can take me lightly!?"
Amy placed the weapon on her back and curled up, surprising both her companions and her foes as she started revving up a Spin Dash. The rabbit had been practicing the move herself after seeing Miles use it during their first outing, but she didn't know the hedgehog had been doing so as well. The pink sphere slid under the bear's board in a blink, soon moving past Cream and Cheese down the track. Seeing Bearenger turning around yet again to give chase, the bunny copied the hoglet's move and caught up with her before long. The two hit the deck as he came in for a low sweep, only just missing them, then got to their feet and went after him.
"Melee's not all I've got, rag dolls!" he told them, as one of his feet shifted and stepped on the Gear with a loud click.
The shark face's teeth parted, several small black balls spilling out of the board's hidden mouth and dropping onto the coaster. Orange light overpowered much of the other colors as the projectiles erupted into much larger explosions than their size would suggest, blasting the wood and metal apart. The girls weren't fast enough to keep themselves from falling off the nearly formed edge of the track, but thankfully for Amy, Cream came to the rescue. Using her long ears, she swooped in and caught her young friend, then flew them up to the other side of the carnage their enemy had made.
No sooner had they landed when Bearenger came in from the side, attempting to ram them with his Gear. Amy swung her mace at the board, but did little more than cause it to wobble slightly and nearly have the weapon knocked out of her hands. Cream tried to get close to pull her friend out of there, but the grizzly forced her to back off as he switched targets. His ride jerked along with the wide movements of his arms, throwing his weight behind every punch. The rabbit felt the air itself heat up near her face each time those fists drew close, though the figurative fire in those red eyes was even more intense. She could see that Cheese wanted to try and ward off the blows, but the look on the Chao's face told her that it was thinking the same thing: if just one of those hit them in a vital place, they were done for.
"Hold still and it'll be over quick!" he snarled at her, "don't be stupid trying to fight back!"
Bearenger's rounded ears perked up as Amy lunged at him once more, letting out an adrenaline-fueled scream. "Leave her alone, you big brown balloon!"
"Why you," the ursine rumbled irately, spinning around and catching the head of her weapon in one hand. He flicked the handle hard, causing the hedgehog to crash into the rails next to the rabbit. The brute then proceeded to snap it like a twig, throwing the broken mace over the sides of the coaster. "I'm gonna do to you what I just did to your stick, and then your lop-eared friend and her flying gumdrop are next! Then I'll display your trophies to that fox brat before I take him down!"
Having seen just how far Bearenger was willing to go to get them, and at Miles by extension, something within Cream decided that enough was enough. Her gloves crinkled loudly as she balled them into tight fists, her brown eyes narrowing into "the stare" she'd seen her mother use on rare occasions. Cheese noticed her change, and while it was shocked to see her this way, it quickly adopted the same demeanor, appearing to realize the true seriousness of the situation as well. Amy got to her feet and looked up to the rabbit for guidance, who simply jerked her head to the path behind them.
The hedgehog girl hesitated, but complied after a moment, turning on her heels and Spin Dashing away to give herself a head start. Bearenger noisily grinded his teeth and fired up his Gear, ready to rush ahead and cut her off. Pain suddenly spread through his noggin as a light blue blur smacked him right between the eyes, causing his feet to leave the board. He bounced against the track a few times and came to a stop, soon getting to his knees and rubbing where he'd been hit. The grizzly peered up to see Cream standing there, her fists raised and her legs firmly planted, showing she was ready for battle.
"I hate fighting," she said calmly, though there was a hint of anger in her tone, "but you know what I hate even more? People like you that are crass, cruel and needlessly violent, not caring about anyone or anything else except for themselves! I'm not going to sit here and let you try to hurt me, my friends, or anyone else!"
Bearenger bolted to his feet and sprang into a superman punch, keen on turning Cream into paste. She hopped above him and drew in her legs before driving them down into the bear's back with a double kick. He growled, smashing through a few layers of the track and tumbling below, though he was saved from a rough landing by his Gear. He rocketed up and dove from the board in a cannonball, landing ahead of the rabbit to cause the section she was on to collapse entirely. She and Cheese took flight and zeroed in on him, the bigger of the two cocking one leg back as though she was going to kick him again. Bearenger lifted a meaty fist to block any angles at his head, thinking he'd easily swat her aside.
Cream let out a puff through her nose as she grabbed hold of Cheese, who braced itself in her palm, then pitched him at the bear's legs like a fastball. Bearenger was knocked off balance, falling onto his backside and nearly rolling off the end of his board, managing to catch its stabilizers in time to hang on. He pulled himself to stand again, just in time to catch a kangaroo kick right where he'd previously been guarding! This once again forced him back, one of his feet tripping over the rear vertical fin and making him fly from his ride.
The teen commandeered it for herself, though given she had no experience in using such a craft, she was unable to keep it from veering back towards its original owner. Miles would've known what to do, but he wasn't here to help, so Cream just started trying everything. After a few seconds of experimenting, she located the switch that released the bombs within the storage cache, then panicked when she realized she shut it before the explosives could come out! She was ready to abandon the Gear, but Bearenger beat her to the punch, shoving her over the side as it came in to retrieve him.
"Alright, you wanna die first!?" he bellowed, "then that's what you're gonna get, you cu–"
BOOM!
With nowhere to go, the bombs in Bearenger's Extreme Gear exploded, reducing it to a shower of shrapnel and fire. The bear roared in rage as he soared away and fell towards the lagoon below, pieces of his ruined board raining down with him. There was a loud crack as he broke through the ice and a huge splash from all the water his impact kicked up. A few seconds later, the grizzly surfaced, trying to clamber onto the ice and make his way to shore. He gazed up at the roller coaster, where Cream and Cheese settled back on the tracks, Amy strolling back up next to them.
"Pfft!" the big guy spat, growling as he attempted to get a good hold on the drifting sheets, "you're all dead the next time I see you, you hear me!? Dead!" He grumbled and shivered while he shuffled towards the shore. "Gah, shit it's cold..."
The girls and Chao hurried along to where the track looped back around, hoping that the bear didn't see where they went as they made their way back to the hotel. On the way, the hedgehog glanced up at the rabbit and her small companion with starry eyes.
"You guys really showed that meanie!" she praised them, "I knew you could do it if you tried!" She giggled knowingly. "And I bet Miles will be proud of you, too."
Cream cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "I just couldn't stand to see him hurt anyone else, so I just did what felt right. I feel bad for the people who have to do repairs on the ride, though..."
"Me too," the hedgehog commented sympathetically, though she swiftly cheered up, "but hey, we stopped a bad guy from making things even worse! At least he didn't try to force us onto the track that actually had people riding."
True, that much was a relief. Cream didn't want to imagine the potential number of lives lost and damage wrought if that had ended up happening. All she wanted to do now was go back to their room and relax while they waited for Miles and Khal to return with good news.
The two-tailed fox and the tattooed and spotted hyena came out the other end of the Time Warp and arrived in the future of White Park, both of them gritting their teeth and sucking in a breath at what they saw. Much like at Sylvania Castle, the foliage was bare and rotting, while the ground was blackened and uncomfortably tough. All the water in and around the lagoon had dried up completely, leaving what was once a waterlogged cavern as a barren, dark, and foreboding series of catacombs. The roller coaster from the present was falling apart, though much of it was still standing, likely due to the chill slowing the effects of erosion. The village, while greater in size than in their time, was in far worse shape, with most of the buildings hollowed out and wrecked. The sky was blanketed with those same ominous clouds, and the landscape was even more bleak now that the moon was in place of the sun, with the temperature also having dropped accordingly.
"My gods, you were telling the truth," Khal murmured aloud with a tinge of defeat, "it really happened..."
Miles looked over at him. "What do you know about this?"
The hyena leapt down into the hoarfrost cave, waiting for the fox to follow before he said anything.
"Have you ever heard of the Principality of Soleanna?" the older male asked the teen. There was a moment where the younger guy closed his eyes in recollection, then gave the spotted fellow a nod. "Well, there's a rather recent period of its history that many have neglected to record: the War of the Sun and the Moon."
That struck the boy as rather odd. "How recent was it?"
"About 13 years before your present," Khal elaborated, jumping down from one ledge to the next, "despite the fanciful name, the conflict I mentioned before was a civil war, brought about by a schism between the royal family and the clergy of Soleanna."
Miles scratched his chin contemplatively. He wasn't as familiar with the city-state as he was with things like the legends surrounding the Chaos Emeralds. As keen as he was on learning things like history, he inwardly confessed he'd never read anything about an internal conflict within such a nation.
"Ultimately, to make a long story short," Khal summarized, guiding his younger companion up into the next portion, "the forces of the Sun, allied with the royals, won out against those of the Moon, who sided with the church. But, it was a Pyrrhic victory. The Solaris Project, an attempt to bring their sun god into creation, had been sabotaged and caused many casualties, with the Duke of Soleanna being among them. The side of the moon tried their own luck with the Lunaren Initiative, but while it saw completion, it also didn't end well. The city-state is still recovering from the fallout, and until the Duke's daughter comes of age, it has no formal leader." He frowned a bit. "As for why almost nobody outside of Soleanna knows about the War, there are several reasons, but only two of them really matter. First, it was a very brief conflict, and second, their government covered up pretty much everything, especially the incidents regarding the artificial gods."
The pair descended down a long shaft, the fox using his tails while the hyena parkoured with his claws and feet. Upon reaching the bottom, they were set upon by several blue and purple icy creatures that had a bizarre admixture of snow bird and bat traits. They had magenta eyes with vertical slit pupils, like those of a lizard or feline, their ears curving backwards like horns, and their long, spindly tail-feathers ending in crescent-shaped tips suitable for slashing.
Upon spotting the two interlopers, the creatures emitted a horrific shriek that rattled both sets of ears. Miles noticed their attention was more fixated on the hyena, likely seeing him as a bigger threat. A couple of them came in for a speedy dive bomb attack, their bodies building up an icy blue glow while frost fumed from their own beak-mouths. Khal brought his khopesh out, sidestepping one of them while swinging at the other and cleaving it in two, its body shattering upon hitting the ground. The second one circled around for another go, but was stopped by the fox breaking it to pieces with a timely Rolling Jump.
Seeing that a direct approach wasn't working, the other monsters let out an odd choking noise and began spitting up balls of black ice at the Animals. Miles flipped and dodged around those that came his way, while Khal dispersed and deflected them with his weapon. As for former closed in on their attackers, he clutched at a handful of his mini bombs, waiting until he got close before flinging them in a wide horizontal arc. Screeches filled the air along with loud bangs as most of the creatures were consumed in the explosive attack, while the area around them suffered relatively little structural damage. One survivor streaked out of the cloud in a mad rush at him, only to get its head caught by the hyena's free hand. It let out otherworldly noises of clear protestation, which the spotted warrior silenced with a crunch as he crushed the thing's noggin and then threw it to the ground.
"They're different from the things I fought in Sylvania," Miles commented, "but they share a lot of common traits and have similar behavior." He glanced over at the hyena. "Given what you told me about the War, I'm guessing they're related to that 'Lunaren Initiative'."
Khal nodded and resumed walking down the path that laid in front of them. "Unlike the Solaris Project, the Lunaren Initiative did produce results. However, the manifested deity proved to be unstable, and almost immediately diffused into two separate entities. One of them is called Glacia, embodying the cruel cold of death and the moon's beauty. It's mindless yet clever, and seeks nothing more than to extinguish all life in a slow, agonizing manner. The beings that you and I encountered are its spawn, which help to spread the chill and kill anything they come across."
The two kept on walking through the tunnel until the path went straight up a wall. Using their respective means to scale it, they then leapt to a gap in another wall, revealing a chamber much like the one they'd just been in. Fortunately, there were no beasts to harass them this time, and on the other side, they came to a vertical fork in the road. Khal felt out the entrance of both routes, and after a few seconds, he chose the one that kept going forward and gradually rose up.
"So then, what about the other one?" Miles inquired as they tread up a somewhat steep hill.
The hyena grunted, his free hand balling into a fist. "Its name is Sierus. Just as the moon was once a ball of fire before it was a cold rock, Sierus is the flame to Glacia's ice. It, too, wishes for the destruction of life, and while it's smarter than its 'sibling', it's less patient and doesn't play with its food as much, if you'll pardon my wording."
"I can't imagine they would obey their 'creators', then," the fox remarked, "but, since the present world is just fine, that means they were stopped somehow."
Khal guided them to a pit that went quite deep, digging his claws into the rock as he slowly climbed down. "Not for good, unfortunately. Whether or not they're truly immortal is a mystery, but nothing the people of Soleanna tried could kill Glacia or Sierus, so they had to be sealed away instead. The fiery fiend was trapped within an artifact known as the Mystic Orb, which was moved to a temple far from the nation. As for the ice monster, it's currently contained by a living vessel: Elise, the princess of Soleanna."
That certainly explained why the world hadn't already gone to Hell in a hand basket. However, there was a startling realization when it came to the latter news.
"But, that means when she dies, it'll be released!" the fox exclaimed as he hovered down after the other guy.
The hyena hummed quietly. "Yeah, it's inevitable, and if Glacia isn't stopped again when that happens, or when the seal after her breaks, this future will be, too."
Miles couldn't stand the thought of the beautiful world he knew turning out like this. Even if this might have happened long after he and everyone he knew was gone, he couldn't help but feel a little responsible for being unable to stop it. He wasn't sure how he would be able to manage it, but he would do his best to come up with something more permanent. There wasn't much that could be done about Glacia, given it was still sealed within Princess Elise.
However, Sierus was out and about, which could definitely prove to be just as bad, if not worse. As much as he didn't want to get the others back home involved, they definitely would be if he didn't put a stop to things here. Khal said that it had more limited patience, which inferred that it wouldn't stick around on Little Planet for long before it spread to the rest of the world. He suspected that the only reason it hadn't moved on yet was because it wanted the Time Stones for something, hence why it attacked there in the first place.
As Miles contemplated the matter, the two of them continued on until, after many twists and turns, they arrived outside once more. There was a single patch of snow in the otherwise barren ground, and tucked in the center of it was a mineral that was identical to the green Time Stone in their possession, only it was a rich orange instead. Satisfied to have finally found it, the fox bent down and retrieved the gem, dusting off the powder and then placing it in a belt pouch.
Not even a moment later, the soil and surrounding rock began to split open and churn out particulates like it had during the teen's trip through Sylvania. What formed this time was a giant humanoid monster mostly composed of what appeared to be liquid nitrogen, with purple-black ice encasing their limbs like armor. Its hands, wrists, shoulders, and much of its broad torso were protected as such, while its owl-like head was made up of the ice entirely, save for its reptilian eyes. Its feet and legs wore the frost like boots, and there were some nasty looking icicle spikes on both the creature's spine and the back of its hands.
"Seems it doesn't want us to leave just yet," Khal said as he dismissed his weapon and bumped his fists together, "in that case, let's pound it into powder."
Miles looked at him quizzically. "With your bare hands? That thing looks like it would freeze you just by getting too close!"
"Well, my blade isn't exactly made for ice sculpting," the hyena quipped, "and I don't think your little toys would fare any better."
The fox growled at the jab, not taking kindly to someone talking down about his tools and creations. The icy owl golem interrupted him before he could complain by bringing down both of its fists, forcing the Animals to scatter. This wasn't enough to avoid the blow entirely, however, as a visible shockwave of energy fanned out from the point of impact, which knocked the fox and the hyena off their feet. They quickly recovered and put some more distance between them and the creature so that they would be prepared if it tried that move again. It responded by reaching down and scooping up a chunk of the hard and dead soil like it was sand, compacted it like a snowball, then hurled it in the teen's direction.
Miles easily zipped around the improvised projectile and threw a handful of mini bombs up at the thing's uncovered legs, but they didn't even scratch the cold liquid. It swung one of its arms in retaliation, with the fox taking to the air to avoid both the blow and the accompanying shockwave. He whipped out the Pikkon Hammer and went for a blow to the creature's head, yet this proved nearly as ineffective as his explosives, only succeeding in barely making it tilt back and giving his arm a dull ache. It opened its beak, a bluish-white light showing in the back of its maw, which the teen thought was rather peculiar. It quickly grew darker like the rest of the creature, not to mention more intense as it got ready to blast the vulpine away. Khal jumped in from the side with a flying kick, hitting the golem's head just hard enough to alter the course of the icy beam it emitted, making it miss Miles. He dove past an attempted punch at him and landed back on the ground, regrouping with the younger guy.
"It's durable, but I'm pretty sure I've figured out where its weak point is," Miles related to him, "let's try to coax it into using that beam attack again, then go for the back of the throat!"
Khal grunted his understanding and dashed between the giant's legs, ramming one of its boots with a shoulder check. While this hardly dealt any damage, it got the monster to focus on him, lifting that same foot to try and crush him. The hyena leapt up towards the spines on one of its hands and vaulted from there onto the same shoulder. It tried to slap him away with the opposite hand, but simply ended up clapping its shoulder as the warrior hopped up high and bonked it on the head with a Rolling Jump. The beast went to snatch him out of the air, coming up short as Miles flew in to give his companion a timely lift, then dropped him back onto the owl head.
They kept this up for several moments, the hyena of the two moving to and fro across the thing's upper body, always staying just out of reach of its attacks, while the fox delivered a few hits of his own. To Khal's minor amusement, the big brute let out a groan like glaciers grinding together, as if to voice its annoyance about being unable to swat the smaller beings. The surrounding area was torn apart and unearthed from the carnage, but not once did the Animals get caught up in it. Soon enough, it got to the point where, after trying everything else, it all but unhinged its jaw to charge up an even bigger blast than before.
"Let's go!" Khal shouted, bracing his hands and feet against the uneven ground, shifting into his feral form.
Miles followed up by twirling his tails close to top speed, circling around the monster in a blur. Its head whipped from side to side as it tried to get a bead on the teen, changing targets after a couple of moments. The older guy whipped up a whirlwind with the loosened earth as he also sprinted about the giant, keeping his true location obscured. The huge construct could no longer hold back the energy, letting loose a deafening voom and unleashing a brilliant blue-black ray several meters long and wide. It blew away the cloud of dust and lanced through the hills nearby, reducing everything that wasn't immediately vaporized to the same dark ice covering its limbs. All was silent, the thing's jaw still hanging open as it scanned around for its prey. In a flash, two spheres, one amber and the other gray-brown, rocketed right at the light in its gullet. The giant closed its jaw, but did so too late to prevent the Animals from entering its mouth.
With a horrible-sounding crack, the massive creature burst apart into countless shards and chunks of ice, snow, and ash, and the boys landed in the center of where it had just been standing. Khal was quick to transform back into his bipedal state, take out the green Time Stone, and open a portal. Miles went through first, and soon enough, he and his companion came out of the other gate with the amusement park in sight.
"It's good to be back," the fox sighed tiredly.
"You said it," the hyena mumbled, gazing at the Stone in his hand, "I'd rather not return to the future, but I know we'll need to."
Miles knew he was right, but he'd rather not think about that for the moment. All he wanted to do was get back to the hotel, have a nice hot meal after trudging through the bitter cold, and flop onto his bed. Thankfully, it was easy to find the place, and he already felt better once the warm indoor air washed over him. Cream and Cheese were there to greet them in the lobby, seeming just as relieved to see them as they were to be back in the present. The hyena gave them a wave, but didn't stick around, excusing himself to go inquire about their room and turn in for the night.
"You're finally back!" the rabbit exclaimed, surprising the fox with a tight hug, "it was a nice evening at first, Miles, but then things got bad. A friend of that mean wolf found Amy and I, and he tried to get rid of us!"
Miles held her at arm's length, looking over her for any bruises or injuries. "Are you okay? What about Amy?"
"She's sleeping right now, but she only got bumped up a little bit," Cream said, her eyes turning down, "I ended up having to hurt the bear guy. I didn't want to, but he was going to do worse to us, and then you, so I didn't have a choice. At least we stopped him before any more damage could be done..."
He let out a hum, knowing who she was referring to, and gave her shoulders a gentle and reassuring squeeze.
"I'm sorry you had to fight, Cream," he apologized quietly, "if me or Khal had been here, you wouldn't have had to get your hands dirty." His expression changed to a happier one. "You know something, though? I'm glad that you three are okay, and I'm proud that you stopped a short-fused guy like Bearenger."
She gave him a soft smile of her own and reached up to stroke over his hands, then gently lifted them away. "Thank you, Miles, but I'll let you handle him next time." The two of them laughed a little bit, then Cream's eyes lit up with recollection. "Oh, what about the Time Stone?"
Miles showed off the orange Stone with a grin. "We had our own ordeal, but we got what we came for. Now, I just want to get some food in me and head to bed."
Cream giggled a little nervously, which made the fox tilt his head curiously. She sheepishly fished out the money pouch he'd lent her and handed it back, and it was then that he noticed two things. First, the pouch was significantly skinnier than it had been when he gave it to her, and secondly, she was wearing a few new duds to make her attire more winter friendly.
"Cream, did you spend my money on new clothes?" he asked her with his brow raised.
The bunny nodded shyly. "Yes..."
His mind went back to the time he'd lost quite a few Rings due to letting Sonic gamble them away. He knew that wasn't the same as this, though, and unlike the hedgehog's passive response to the unlucky incident, Cream was apologetic. It was hard to be mad with her, and it wasn't like she'd spent the Rings on something impractical.
"Don't worry about it," Miles said kindly, chuckling at the surprise in her features, "as long as they keep you warm, I don't mind so much. And if you really feel bad about it?" He scratched at his chin, then snapped his fingers. "Just think of them as an early birthday present!"
Cream laughed and gave him another hug. "Aww, you're so sweet, Miles!" She then cleared her throat, a nervous smile coming right back. "So, um, you won't be mad that Amy bought herself some new clothes too, will you?"
The bunny girl found herself a bit afraid when she saw the fox's face. One of his eyes was twitching, and his fangs were slowly starting to show themselves. He hastily opened the Ring pouch to see how many were left, and upon counting the contents thrice over, he angrily stuffed it into one of his belt pockets.
"That rascal," he grumbled as he started towards the dining area, "she will be paying me back for this."
"Oh dear," Cream sighed, with Cheese sharing in her dismay.
It seemed that her young friend wasn't going to get off the hook like she did. But hopefully, Miles wouldn't be too hard on her, and they could quickly move on to what was more important. After all, they would have to make up for lost time to catch up to Little Planet and get the rest of the Stones.