Chapter 4 – Birth of Seven Emeralds
"Behold! Three have entered the realm of Birth."
"Two will attempt what none other has dared."
"The echidna is conscripted to be their guide."
"Here, it begins."
Sonic, Tails and Knuckles contemplated the glittering sapphire ocean. Waves rolled gently onto the white sand, as the fresh sea breeze ruffled their furs.
"Where are we, Red?"
Knuckles turned around and started at the sight of Angel Isle beach spread out before them.
"My home! But it is not in the sky. This is before the Floating Isle gained its name."
"We're in the past?" wondered Tails.
"No," said Knuckles with certainty, "It is a… recreation of sorts. The forces in this realm are beyond our comprehension, so the Walkers made a reality we could understand."
He gestured expansively with his arms.
"Unless the Walkers have other plans, there are seven Super Emeralds waiting to be born here."
"Born? Weren't all Chaos Emeralds created two thousand years ago in our time?" asked Sonic.
Knuckles grinned.
"You shouldn't be concerned with the how, Blue, because you're about to be worried with the why."
Knuckles searched their eyes before he explained.
"As you know, the Chaos Emeralds give you supernatural bodies…"
"And with seven Super Emeralds I'll go straight to Hyper Sonic, but yeah, go on."
"…Apart from that, users of Chaos Emeralds can command their respective elements. You, Tails, control Air."
"That's pretty obvious, I guess."
Knuckles addressed Sonic.
"But you, the only one to have two levels of power, can control them all!"
Sonic raised an eyebrow.
"I always knew I was special. But how to control them?"
"Belief."
With that, Knuckles promptly winked out of existence. Sonic and Tails jumped in alarm.
"How'd he do that?" Sonic demanded, "That wasn't Chaos Control!"
"Uh, Sonic?"
A living darkness of blackest midnight was spreading its shadow slowly toward the Isle. Tails, remembering it from one of his nightmares, pointed to it with trembling paw.
"Him!"
Sonic began to run up the beach. Tails shook his head (this is no time for kid's stuff) and followed.
"Come on, Tails! We suddenly have a time limit to get the Emeralds!"
***
Gathering several golden rings, they came across their first enemy, a mechanical monkey that was rudely pelting them with coconuts.
"You sure this isn't the real deal?" asked Tails as Sonic knocked out the robot with one of its own coconuts, "The flora, the terrain… identical!"
"But that isn't."
A light blue sphere of light emerged from the robot's remains and the world fell away before their eyes…
A winding mountain trail, stretching upward to infinity, greeted their sight. Sonic spun around several times, taking in their new surroundings. They were standing upon a (quite solid) cloud, the ground below could not be seen, lost in darkness.
"Where the hell…"
"It's another reality! Just like the fake Angel Isle."
"But what…"
"It's no use speculating. This requires hands-on observation!" said Tails, starting up the path. Five minutes of intense running brought them to the peak.
"There's the Emerald!" Sonic yelled above the noise of wind.
The mountain's apex was actually a sharp cliff. Standing on its edge, the sky blue Emerald was a twenty-foot jump away from them, hovering in the midst of a strong gale.
"Have you noticed?" yelled Tails above the rushing air currents, "The wind is blowing downward!"
"That means we can't get the Emerald without being blown straight back down and splat!" Sonic summarized, "So how do we get it?"
In response, Knuckles appeared beside them.
"Hello."
"Red!" they chorused.
"Giving birth to a Chaos Emerald requires conviction in that Emerald's abilities. If you don't believe that you can control this air current, it will send you to your doom."
Knuckled winked out of existence.
"Great!" Sonic muttered, "As if I'm not confused enough! What are we supposed to… TAILS!"
The small orange kitsune was leaping, paws outstretched. He grabbed the Emerald. Sonic watched in transfixed horror.
Tails was falling, falling, whisked downward by the very force he now cradled in his arms.
Tails spoke one word.
"UP!"
And Nature obeyed.
"Whoa!" yelled Sonic as Tails shot by in a blur of orange, white and blue. High above, Tails spoke once more.
"STOP!"
And the winds were calm. Tails, twin tails twirling, floated downward and alighted beside his friend on the perilous edge of the mountain.
"How?"
"Simple, Sonic. You gotta believe the Chaos Emerald has control over its element. And, you have to say it like you mean it, I mean, yell at it, sort of."
Just as he said that, Angel Isle reappeared. The ball of blue light from the robot's remains was gone, but Tails now held a Chaos Emerald, as large as he, in his paws. Without much ado, Tails motioned for the Emerald to stay up. It left him and hovered in midair above his head.
"One down, six to go," Tails shrugged.
***
And so it went. Collecting fifty golden rings led to the Emerald of water. Swimming against a river's current (after hastily learning how to swim), Sonic snatched the deep blue jewel and immediately fell down a waterfall. Screaming, he told the water to stop, and wonder of wonders, the water halted its downward path onto some jagged rocks.
Returning to Angel Isle they collected an Invincibility monitor and were transported to a desert plain where a sandstorm was in progress. Following the light of the yellow Chaos Emerald, Sonic eventually touched it and reversed an earthquake before it swallowed them whole.
On the Isle they ran through a loop and found themselves running from a stream of burning, blazing magma, down the side of a steep black mountain. Tails grabbed Sonic and flew him to a lone rock, slowly being dissolved by the magma. The Emerald of flame was there. Holding it, Sonic ordered the lava flow several times to stop. The lava continued bubbling upward, not listening. Tails went on tiptoe beside Sonic.
"I don't think we're gonna make it."
Sonic eyed the creeping doom of fire, saying, "Be cool, bro," and it was the fire that died.
***
Swinging above the waterfall of Angel Isle on the conveniently placed vines, Tails counted the Emeralds (that were flying with them).
"What are the other elements, Sonic?"
"Huh? Oh, that's right, we only have four."
And Knuckles was gliding beside them.
"Life, Light and Dark remain. Green, white and purple…"
Then he was gone.
"I wish he'd help us out with getting the damn jewels, instead of taking a break every two seconds," grumbled Sonic. They leaped off the vines and crushed a menacing mechanical mongrel that lay waiting. Two spheres of light greeted them, white and green. Circling each other, the balls of light radiated energy and the world, as they knew it, vanished from sight.
It seemed they had returned to the beginning of Angel Isle. The ocean was before them, fading away into the horizon. But there was no evil darkness infecting the clear blue sky above. It was another test.
"This can't mean going through the Isle again. There's an island, you can just see it," Sonic said, pointing to the almost invisible dot near the horizon.
"I can't fly us that far. Oh, duh… the water Emerald."
Sonic frowned at the ocean before him, grasping the deep blue Emerald.
"PART!"
Nothing happened.
"PART, DAMN YOU!"
Zilch. Tails held up a paw.
"Wait. Use my Emerald."
The blue Emeralds in either paw, Sonic thundered his command once more. Air stirred, concentrating its currents upon the waters. A tunnel of air formed, cutting a straight line through the waters, which did indeed part, resulting in a dry path with walls of water on either side.
"Y'know, I can't help feeling this has been done before," remarked Sonic as they ran toward the islet, far out to sea. Tails stared around in awed fear at the divided ocean, shadows of fishes moving within the tremendous walls of water that could crash down at any moment.
The next moment Tails was worried about the huge pillar of fire that had swooped down from the sky, blocking their pathway.
"How…" Tails began, and was cut off as Sonic raised the Emerald of flame and commanded, "Cool it!" to no avail.
"It's too strong!"
Sonic scratched his head in thought, silhouetted by the column of flames while Tails stood nervously by. The water Emerald came up this time. Instead of speaking, Sonic held out both arms to the water walls on either side. He clapped his paws together, and the water followed suit, smashing a portion of the walls into the blazing fire. The flames were subdued, but only for a moment, as more flame fell from the sky, strengthening the barrier. Tails looked up, was inspired, and poked Sonic on the shoulder.
"Ever heard of a waterspout? They form at sea when…"
"Say no more!"
The Emeralds of water and wind at his command, Sonic brought forth a howling gale. It formed itself into a ravaging tornado, joining itself to the pillar of fire, making it burn even brighter. As the grand Conductor of the elements, Sonic raised both arms, motioning for water to combine with wind. Waves splashed into the blazing tornado, and were drawn upward to the sky, at once extinguishing the fire but also creating a new obstacle of furiously spinning water.
"Sonic! It's getting too big!" shouted Tails as the roaring waterspout spat jets of mist around them, drenching their furs. Sonic brought his arms down in one swift motion, casting a stern glare at the thunderous funnel. It surrendered to his will, returning to the sky and sloshing into the cliffs of ocean that still stood on either side.
"You're a god."
Tails was wrenching the sogginess out of his tails. Sonic crouched and spun as if he were about to zoom off into a spin dash, but he stayed in place until all the dampness had been spun out of his fur. Tails started wringing his newly wet fur again.
"I'm just a medium for the Emeralds, and Destiny, to work through," Sonic said matter-of-factly, "But if you feel the need to bow down and worship, feel free."
"Oh, yes, my lord and god," Tails snickered.
The islet possessed a solitary palm tree; among its leaves were the white Emerald and green Emerald. Mere yards away from their goal, Knuckles spoke from behind them.
"The Emeralds of Light and Life co-exist. Without light there is no life. Without life, there is no purpose for light. Thus, the Light Emerald controls the flow of time, guiding the course of Life. But be forewarned: Time can be hastened or held back, but never halted. Such power belongs to the gods alone."
"Hi, Red. Want to help us with these?" Sonic asked after the little speech, and stuck a thumb at the palm tree, "You're a better climber than I am."
Knuckles shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips.
"I'm just a messenger."
Setting foot upon the islet, Tails waited while Sonic scaled the lone palm tree. Standing on the leaves, he held the Server Emeralds of Light and Life in his paws. Their strong glows cast half his face in white light and the other in green.
"Got 'em."
A tremor went through Sonic as the four other Emeralds zoomed past his head, trailing their colours, and returned to Angel Isle shore.
"They're just leaving?" he sputtered. Tails had a worried look on his face.
"Without the water and wind Emeralds, that means…"
With a shuddering roar, the ocean broke free and was about to become whole again.
"Sonic!" Tails cried, not knowing what to do. But Sonic did. The Light Emerald held aloft, he ordered, "SLOW!"
What had been two mountains of water about to slam into each other was reduced to a trickle of motion. Hopping off the tree, Sonic saw the window of opportunity was barely six feet wide.
"Come on buddy!"
Sonic shot into the closing curtains of the ocean and was a hundred feet ahead when he turned around and saw Tails had just begun to enter the closing ocean.
"Damn! Everything slows down except me!"
Speeding back and grabbing Tails' arm, Sonic turned for Angel Isle and mustered every ounce of speed he could, shattering the sound barrier twice. Water was skimming his shoulders when he rocketed onto Angel Isle's shore, and the ocean closed with a clap of thunder, throwing up sheets of water that billowed into soft rainbows as the sun caught them.
Then they were back on the 'real' Angel Isle, the waterfall flowing behind them. Tails blinked and shook his head several times, staring at Sonic with renewed awe.
"Wow! How did you do that? When you grabbed me, I've never, ever moved that fast…"
"You were stuck in time, Tails, 'cuz I used this."
Sonic held up the white Emerald (the five others were now orbiting above). Tails tilted his head.
"Now I don't know if you were speeded up or everything was slowed down. I didn't feel slower…"
"Who cares, we got through. Hey Red," called Sonic, and the echidna materialized before them.
"Yes?"
"The last Emerald is…?"
"I told you, it's darkness. Now get going."
"Darkness?" repeated Tails as Knuckles did his vanishing act, "But aren't we supposed to be fighting darkness?"
"By Destiny, I'll never understand this, I'll just be running my way through," sighed Sonic and picked up the pace, heading off deeper into Angel Isle. Tails shrugged and followed.
***
Knocking over a weird-looking pole with a star on top of it, Sonic and Tails bounced out of a dark corridor. They ran onward and stopped short. The world seemed to have ended in a thick gray film that resisted their efforts to go through. Plant life, sunlight…even the ground and sky ended at the steady grayness.
"But we haven't gotten the last Emerald!" complained Tails. Sonic was rubbing his chin, which of late had begun to sprout some green stubble to match his wild emerald hair.
"I wonder…"
Turning, he went back into the dark corridor and fell down to a lower level, where a broken rock wall greeted him. Without bothering to waste his energy breaking through, Sonic pointed the yellow Earth Emerald and shouted, "OPEN!"
Grinding rocks turned inward to form a small archway through which walked Sonic, Tails and six Super Emeralds.
"Follow me if you dare!" cried Sonic, and leaped onto a hidden spring. He was instantly sprung upward and through the hoop of a huge golden ring. Tails took a deep breath and bounced after Sonic through the golden ring, which quickly winked out of existence.
***
"Something is wrong."
Tails agreed. The crater before them was thick with a creeping fog of darkness. The very air choked their throats and stung their eyes. Overhead a scorched sky roiled with black smoky clouds, the rumour of lightning sounded through the dark heavens.
"Every place before this was natural in Nature. A volcano, a river, even a sandstorm, but not this," coughed Tails.
"The only way is down," sighed Sonic, and picked his way downward among the broken, scarred terrain. Seeing Sonic's head disappear in the polluted fog awoke a nameless fear in Tails' heart and he hastened to follow.
"I don't like this, at all," murmured Tails, who found Sonic's paw and did not let go of it. Even the combined glow of six Emeralds following above shed very little light. The tortured ground was dim and blurry beneath their feet. Without warning Sonic's wandering feet broke off some jutting rock and sent them tumbling in a landslide. When it was all over Sonic shook the poisoned dust from his fur, shivering, as it was very cold at the base of this crater. In the low visibility of the smoky fumes a violet glow caught his eye.
"Th… The last Emerald."
He stumbled toward it but bumped into something rock-solid and very, very black that had appeared out of nothing. Stepping backward Sonic called the Fire Emerald to shed some light on the situation. A smooth featureless body flickered into view, ten feet tall and seemingly hewed out of obsidian stone. Its four arms and two burning coals for eyes blocked the purple Emerald from view. It took a few seconds for Sonic to realize it had no legs and was quietly suspended in the sulfurous air. It spoke and the words echoed in his head, the tone flat and dead.
"I am the messenger of Thanatos. He wishes to know your purpose in creating Chaos Emeralds."
"Our purpose is to stop him from taking over our planet, Mobius."
While Sonic was speaking, Tails was tiptoeing around the dark messenger.
"Tell your master he is not welcome on Mobius. We will resist, in fact, we will prevent him from having his way."
"That is impossible. He has cloaked six worlds in the living darkness of his being. None shall escape. Not even the world created by Destiny and Fate, and guarded by Ancient Walkers, will hide from his dominion."
Tails was behind the messenger now, and reaching for the Emerald of Darkness.
"It is the presence of our gods that will save us," Sonic persisted, "Your false god cannot…"
Without warning, one of the messenger's arms shot behind and at Tails. With a small cry he was impaled through the chest and pinned against the jagged wall.
"TAILS!"
A second arm swatted Sonic aside as it would an annoying fly. Sprawling into a painful blue ball in the dust, Sonic looked desperately toward his friend. The red fire of the Emerald outlined the stream of blood staining Tails' fur, dripping from the solid arm of the messenger that had penetrated through the small body and into the rock behind.
"Oh Goddess, NO!" Sonic screamed, and aimed a spin dash at the messenger. He was sideswiped by another arm and smacked against the same wall where Tails was dying. His feet treading air, the black arm began to press into him. He could hear his ribs cracking, one by one. Painfully he turned his head toward Tails. There was so much blood, but it was still flowing.
He isn't dead!
And that thought inspired Sonic, as he felt death cutting into him.
"Light!" he gasped, and the white Emerald flew to him. He couldn't move his arms but he could still think. Bending his entire mind onto the energies of the white Emerald, he caused brilliant white light to shine onto the messenger's body. The black being shrieked agony and increased pressure on Sonic's already broken body.
Remembering the plight of Tails, Sonic's heart was filled, and the pure light of the Emerald became an all-consuming blaze of power. The messenger turned toward Sonic.
"I am not the end. He is coming…!"
With those words it died and its body dissolved in the radiance of the white Emerald. Hedgehog and kitsune fell onto the harsh ground. Sonic gathered what strength remained. Everything inside of him felt broken. To breathe was agony. Slowly he dragged his painful self over to the bloodbath that was his friend.
"Oh Goddess, tell me what to do, just tell me please…"
In response to his prayer, green light settled above Tails.
"Life… Emerald?"
Though he knew not from where, understanding came to Sonic. He touched the Emerald of Life with a paw, and Tails' blood soaked chest with the other. Sonic would give Tails his suffering, and he would live, and Sally and Paula would be waiting for him, and it wouldn't hurt anymore and he would be happy.
The last thread of life was about to be cut.
***
Colours blurred before his eyes and Tails took a deep breath. He sat up, clutching his chest where no wound was to be found.
"Welcome home, Tails."
Sunset in Marble Gardens sent long shadows among the ruins. Night flowers opened their petals and a crisp breeze wafted their scent to Knuckles and Tails. Glowing softly, seven newborn Server Emeralds lay on the grass around them.
"We got the last Emerald somehow, but… Sonic…"
Tails scanned the vista of rolling hills and marble ruins that were utterly devoid of the blue hedgehog.
"Where's Sonic?"
"He died," came the soft answer. Tails stared at Knuckles. The echidna, arms folded, was calmly watching the ball of fire sink beneath the horizon.
"What? Don't say that!"
"It is the truth. Using the Life Emerald, he took all of your suffering into his body. He sacrificed his life to save your life. No greater love exists."
It was impossible for Tails to hold back tears.
"Why. WHY? This… test was of our friendship. How can our friendship be tested if one of us dies?"
"It is the greatest, and most terrible test of all," Knuckles whispered, facing Tails with dark grief clouding his eyes, "No other way would have satisfied Destiny."
"You speak of the Goddess," Tails said bitterly, "She was the one who said our friendship is a weapon against Thanatos! Where is that weapon now? Half of it is dead, it's one without the other, and it's useless!"
Tails hid his face and sobbed. In the midst of his grief, Knuckles spoke again.
"Did you know, Tails, that your friendship with Sonic, because it was faced with the highest challenge, is not dead. It lives. It stands to reason, therefore, that Sonic is not dead."
Tails looked up from his tearstained paws.
"But you just said he was dead!"
Knuckles lifted his eyes and looked behind Tails' shoulder. He smiled.
Tails turned around and Sonic embraced him, warm and very much alive.
"Bro! You aren't hurt! Thank Destiny," the hedgehog cried, and tears once more touched the wide and wondering eyes of Tails.
"S… Sonic," he murmured, and returned the hug with pure joy.
Knuckles looked away from the reunion and to the sky. Clouds above the setting sun were set aflame in orange and gold.
"Including myself, three have proven worthy of the Seven. There is so little time. Walkers, guide me…"
"Hey, Red?"
"Yes, Blue."
"Can you show me the western temple?"
Knuckles frowned, looking toward the once-great temple of Marble Gardens.
"I thought you would return to Knothole at once. Sally must be worried."
Sonic grinned.
"She's the reason I want to go there. There's this problem of a gift..."
The two shorn pieces of Fire found each other. They were of a common flame, but they could not return to The Great Fire and be complete. They found solace in each other, and joined energies to form a single, fiery fragment. Time became meaningless. Space was endless. They fly through the void between Stars, aware of their own existence. The great mystery is that their Light and Fire never grow dim.
