Chapter 3
You come into the threshold of another starless night of fear
You're running from the demons that would drag you down again...
-Existence, Kevin Max
__________________________
It was dark, but our flashlights illuminated the hand-like footprints of several monkeys and a chimpanzee. I pictured a chimp with a baby chao in its filthy hands, grinning a foolish grin...
The tracks led us away from Sapphire City and soon we entered the foothills, travelling over dead grass that rustled as we passed. We were skirting the mountains and moving into the wastelands north of the desert. Knuckles led, because he was the best tracker. Sonic roamed ahead and to either side, glowing a creepy greenish-blue, and I brought up the rear.
We walked for hours, driven by fear and anger, hoping our chao were unharmed. The night deepened around us and the stars blazed down like cold crystals, illuminating the landscape in milky light. I peered ahead, hoping to see the loping figures of the thieves. They had a day's head start on us, but they were carrying prisoners, and we were traveling light. That is, if they had not killed the chao. The thought sent a thread of ice through me, and I tried to walk faster.
"Sonic," said Knuckles, halting on top of a hill. Sonic whisked up to him as I climbed the last few feet of the hill. Knuckles pointed northeast. "Run that way and see what you find. These apes are moving in a straight line, and only you can overtake them now."
Sonic's teeth flashed in a grin. "You got it, Knux," he said, and dashed down the hill. We watched him flash over the next hill, and he was gone.
Knuckles looked at me. "How're you holding up?"
I was tiring, but I wanted to find Zinc more than I wanted to rest. "Good," I told him. "I hope Sonic finds something."
"Me too," he muttered, and trained his flashlight on the grass again. "Come on."
The hardest thing about being robotized is the weight. Most people don't notice the weight of their body as they go about their lives, but being robotized adds thirty or forty pounds of dead weight. I hardly notice it most of the time, but when I'm tired it wears on me. Merely lifting a foot takes an effort, and my chest refuses to expand when I take a breath. The result is a sensation like being buried alive.
Trotting along behind Knuckles, I felt claustrophobia begin, as it does when I'm tired, and fought it. You're out in the open, I told myself. There's nothing to crush you except your own idiot fear. Think about something else, like how it must feel to run as fast as Sonic.
Instead my thoughts crawled back to the day when I went to be derobotized, and they told me that because of my biometal, the derobotizer would reduce me to jelly. They demonstrated with a scrap of biometal they placed in the machine. My hopes for a normal life withered along with the scrap of metal that blackened, curled, and subsided into a puddle of steaming chemicals.
It's hard to accept that there are things you'll never do again, like swim, or feel the wind tug at your fur. Even the simple sensation of touch had been eliminated from everywhere but my face. My senses were clogged with a layer of ash-colored metal.
The attack passed and my breathing grew easier. I forced the memory of the derobotizer out of my head. "Knuckles," I said, "will Sonic be able to find us?"
"Yes," he said without taking his eyes from the yellow circle cast by his flashlight. "He'll see our lights."
We climbed another hill. For some reason I found myself thinking about Robotnik, the mad scientist who always had a hare-brained idea to take over the world. Robotization had been his favorite method of torture.
"Knux," I panted, "why did Robotnik try to collect the chaos emeralds if he can't use them?"
"He can use them," said Knuckles. "He uses them to power robots and machinery."
"But he can't use them like Sonic can," I replied as we descended another hill. "You know, to get superpowers."
Knuckles was silent a moment, then said, "I don't think humans can."
"Then why go after the chaos emeralds?" I said. "Why not something like the Master Emerald?"
Knuckles shot me a ferocious glare. "He did once."
"Oh. I'm sorry, Knux--" The time Robotnik had stolen the Master Emerald was Knuckles's great comeuppance, and Knuckles liked to pretend it had never happened.
His expression softened. "It's okay, Zeff. Actually, I don't think humans can use any of the power gems. There's no chaos in their blood."
"Then why'd they come to this planet?" I snorted. "We'd have been better off without them."
"Maybe," said Knuckles. "Not all humans are like Robotnik."
"Not every cloud has a funnel, I know, I know," I said, shaking my head.
Knuckles peered at me. "Not every cloud has a funnel...?"
I laughed. "Oh, something Dad used to say. Not every cloud would have a funnel, but it was about one in three." My homeworld was a barren wasteland, and the weather did every nasty thing it could think of, forcing our clan to live underground. Mobius had a milder climate, but sometimes I missed the violence of the colors in the sky, and the feel of the wind as it tried to rip open the cavern.
"Mobius is a gentler world," I said.
"We do have tornadoes in some places," said Knuckles. "You might like them."
"No," I said. "The only things I liked about them were the colors and the way the swifts played in them."
"What's a swift?"
"A giant bird like a swallow," I said, remembering the ones that nested in the upper caverns. "They were our friends."
A wave of hot air struck us without warning, knocking us flat. A thunderclap roared in our ears. I held my head and lay still, expecting an attack, but Knuckles scrambled to his feet, snarling, "Sonic, you idiot!" He helped me up, and we watched the blue comet that was Sonic circle around us, slowing down.
"What was that?" I said.
"A sonic boom," said Knuckles in disgust. "He was travelling above the speed of sound and nearly ran us over. Stupid idiot."
Sonic jogged up to us, glowing bright blue in excitement. "Hi guys. You won't believe it, you just won't believe it! I found this weird train track, so I followed it and it led me to this station and I kept going and there's this giant hole in the ground with a city in it!"
He paused for breath. "Go on," said Knuckles.
"So I went down there," Sonic continued, "and I've never seen people like this before. They're like turtles, but their legs and necks are more like a lizard's, but the best thing is the buildings! You guys just won't believe it."
"I already don't," I said, trying to keep up with his rapid-fire chatter. "Did you see any chao?"
"No, but that's where they've got to be," he said, his glow pulsing. "It's only a hundred miles or so." He held out his arms. "Grab on, I'll tow you."
"Sonic, no offense, but I'll break your arm," I said, thinking of my un-aerodynamic body.
"Okay, one at a time, then," said Sonic. He made Knuckles grip his arms from behind, then sprinted off into the night. I put Knuckles's flashlight into my backpack, and sat down to wait for Sonic.
I awoke to find Sonic shaking me. He was smirking. "Come on, I wasn't gone that long."
I sat up, brushing grass off me. "Sorry," I yawned, "but it's past my bedtime."
"Better hang on tight," he said, turning and having me slip my arms through his elbows from behind. "If you start to lose your hold, say something."
He took off and I was jerked off my feet. It was an uncomfortable journey because the G-forces were so intense. My feet never touched the ground, and I imagined I was hanging from a ceiling somewhere, and letting go meant plunging into unfathomable depths. Being half-asleep didn't help, either.
It was a shock when he stopped, because my equilibrium had to reorient itself. It was a relief to sit still.
Gradually I became aware that I was sitting in a grove of tall, spreading trees at the top of a hill. There were lights below the hill, and Sonic and Knuckles were silhouetted against them, looking down. As my dizziness wore off, I was able to stand up and look around.
My first impression was of glass: glowing glass of all colors. Glass in geometric shapes, like crystals. Or were they crystals? I squinted, trying to make sense of what I saw. It was like looking into a gigantic crystal bed, except the crystals were so large they had been made into buildings, with doors and windows. It was beautiful. No wonder Sonic had been chattering.
The tree rattled above me, and something slithered down on my head. I gasped and leaped to one side. As it fell to the ground, I realized it was a strip of fabric. I picked it up and saw it was a long silk banner attached to a stick. Curious, I peered up into the dark branches.
I was dazzled from looking at the crystal city, but I made out something up in the tree. As my eyes adjusted, I realized someone was crouching on a branch against the trunk, staring down at me. A human child. Something about the way it held itself told me it didn't want to be discovered. I waved. When it didn't respond, I held up the silk banner and made a motion as if to toss it up into the tree. The figure moved a little. I tossed the banner, and the child snatched it up and crumpled it against its chest.
I walked up to Sonic and Knuckles, who were oblivious to my discovery. They were talking in low voices. "There's nobody but turtles down there, Knux," Sonic was saying. "Monkeys will stick out like a sore thumb. All we've got to do is ask someone."
"We're going to stick out, too," Knuckles replied. "And what about Zephyer? She attracts attention left, right, and center."
"I'm glad you think so," I said, making them jump. "I thought of that, so I brought some spare cloaks." I lowered my voice. "Sonic, Knux, there's a human in the tree behind us. Don't look," I added, as their heads turned. "It's a young one and I don't want to frighten it."
"That's another thing," said Sonic, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "There's humans down there."
"But what's a young one doing out so late?" Knuckles whispered, trying to swivel his eyes toward the tree without turning his head. "What if it's a sentry of some kind?"
"No," I murmured, "I think it's lost."
"Should we leave?" said Sonic. "What if it follows us?"
"Maybe I can coax it down," I whispered. "Wait a minute." I unhooked my backpack and opened a side flap. There was the candy I had bought for Sonic. I took it out and padded to the foot of the human's tree. "Hi," I called to the pale figure huddled on the branch. "We won't hurt you. Will you come down?" I held up the candy where the child could see it.
It did not move, but I sensed it was thinking. Then it whispered, "You won't report me?"
"No," I whispered back.
The youngster unfolded itself and slid to the ground, trailing the silk flag. It snatched the candy from my hand and backed away, fingers tearing at the wrapping. It was a girl about eleven, and she was shorter than I was. Her clothing was made of silk, and it was too thin for the chill of the night.
"I'm Zephyer," I said, watching her stuff candy in her mouth as if starving.
"Kita," she replied.
I motioned toward the others. "Those guys are Sonic and Knuckles. We're here to find some chao."
Kita's eyes glittered in the light from the city, and there was more animal about her than about us Mobians. "Don't ask the Shellizaas for them."
"Why not?"
"They wouldn't like it," she replied through a mouthful of candy.
Sonic and Knuckles moved up, too curious to keep away. "Why were you in that tree?" said Sonic.
Kita's eyes flickered over him. "Business." She glanced furtively at the sky.
"Aren't you far from home?" Sonic persisted.
She looked at him sideways. "Yes. I'm trying to get back. But the Ghosts always catch me."
"Ghosts?" said Knuckles, dangerously close to sarcasm. I shot him a glare to shut him up.
Kita nodded, chewing, and again scanned the sky. "I never see them. I watch and watch and they always take me. Because of this." She turned around and lifted her shirt, and we saw a yellow glow under her skin along her spine. I heard Sonic catch his breath, as if he recognized it.
Kita pulled her shirt down and turned to face us. "You're outlanders, so you might help me, huh?"
"What do you want?" said Knuckles.
Kita looked crafty. "To get away from Diamonda."
"We want our chao back," said Knuckles, crossing his arms. "Help us and we help you. Deal?"
She stood and looked at him. Then her eyes lifted to the sky, and without warning she bolted.
We watched her slim figure leave the cover of the trees and race across the open, but it was flat for as far as the eye could see. "Should I catch her?" Sonic began, but Knuckles and I hissed, "Shh!"
There was a rushing noise overhead, as if something large were cutting through the air, then a spotlight shone out of nowhere and illuminated Kita in lemon-yellow light. She stumbled and lay still. The beam turned violet, and we watched as she was lifted by an invisible force and taken up into the hovering aircraft. I tried to make out its shape, but it was the same color as the night sky and I could see nothing.
Then Kita and the ship were gone. I looked at Sonic and Knuckles. "I have a bad feeling about this place."
Knuckles was speechless, but Sonic said, "No duh, Zeff. Um..." He looked around the grove. "This is a good place to wait for morning, don't you think?"
A few minutes later we were camped out under the trees, huddling close to the trunks as if to escape detection by invisible flying ships. I wrapped myself in a dark blue cloak and lay on the ground, nerves tense. Over and over I heard Kita's words ... don't report me ... the Shellizaas wouldn't like it ... to get away from Diamonda...
I can sleep anywhere, because no surface makes much difference to my metal exterior. I slept like a log the rest of the night, nerves notwithstanding. I'm a heavy sleeper. Sonic says he envies me, because he's probably the lightest sleeper there is.
I awoke the next morning to find Knuckles prodding me with his foot, looking wary. "Wake up," he said as I opened my eyes. "We're visiting Diamonda today."
"Why are you kicking me?" I said groggily, sitting up.
"Because you attack anyone who leans over you," he replied with a wry smile.
I smirked and stood up, shaking grass out of my cloak. "I have to wear this down there, right?"
"Probably a good idea," he said, moving off and gazing at the crystal city. "Hey Sonic, wake up."
Sonic lifted his head and yawned. "Aw man, it's so early!"
"If you don't get up, we'll eat your breakfast for you," I said, taking a box of rations out of my backpack.
He was on his feet at once. "Why didn't you say so?"
Human-made rations are boring things, and everything is canned or dried. But it was food, and we felt better for it. Then we walked down the hill toward the crystal city, which lay in shadow in its deep valley.