Chapter 6 - Winding Down
All members of the group had returned to the picnic site and the food was being prepared by Sonic, Victoria, and Mina. A couple of the others were taking care of something else...
Sally had propped a couple of blankets up to use as a makeshift recliner for Anthony. As for Amy...
"DESTINY, Anthony...don't SCARE us like that!!!" Amy said, showing both concern and anger for Anthony.
"I'm sorry, Ames..." Anthony said. "I'm...still kinda new to this Emerald business...and I don't get a ring counter like in the games. Would have been useful..."
Amy giggled a bit at that, calming down a bit in the process, and then said, "Well...you're just lucky that Metal and Gamma saved your butt!" She then turned to the two bots and said, "Thanks, guys."
"IT WAS MY DUTY," Gamma replied.
As the group began to talk among themselves, Lisa was getting out a couple of boxes from her knapsack. It was then that Aura saw Hogi-San getting excited for some reason.
"Lisa...why is Hogi-San reacting like that?" Aura asked.
Lisa giggled a bit and said, "Because Hogi-San knew that I brought his favorite food today...and I even brought enough for Ryndar and Cheese as well."
"Is that food that weird treat you had specially made for Hogi-San?" Cream asked.
"Yep..." Lisa said, and then opened the box...revealing a bunch of treats that looked like Chao sized chili dogs.
Sonic and Red Sonic noticed this as well and broke out laughing. "Oh, man..." Sonic said. "Trying to make Hogi-San look more like me, Lis?"
"Well...it wasn't my idea..." Lisa said. "I was getting some food and other Chao supplies at the Chao Garden, and the guy that ran the place had made these for me. He said that if Hogi-San was going to look like Sonic...it was only right that he ate like him as well."
"Does that mean Hogi-San will eat messily without any regard for good manners?" Sally snidely asked.
"HEY!!!" both Sonic and Red Sonic said, glaring at Sally.
Giggles came from the rest of the group as the food, various sandwiches, were passed out to the group. As many of the group ate, Aura became curious about one thing...
"Lisa..." Aura said as she watched the Chao eat, "I've been wondering...how easy is it to train Chao?"
After swallowing a bit of sandwich, Lisa said, "It's pretty easy...as you've probably noticed, Chao can understand common language. So they can understand most commands."
"Yeah, they're annoyingly like Pokémon that way..." Ryan said.
"Oh they are NOT, Bat..." Teila said.
"Pokémon?" Aura asked.
"It's a long story...maybe Anthony can show you later," Lisa said. "Actually, since they can understand most commands, they can eventually learn to talk as well. Watch this..." Lisa then turned towards Hogi-San. "Hogi-San?" Hogi-San looked towards Lisa as he swallowed a bit of the treat he was munching on, and Lisa pointed towards Cheese asking, "Hogi-San...who's that?"
Hogi-San looked and said, in a high pitched voice, "Fwiend..."
"And what's his name?" Lisa asked.
"Cheese..." Hogi-San said.
"That's so CUTE!!!" Aura squealed.
"Are you trying to get Hogi-San to say anything else?" Anthony asked.
"Well...I tried to get him to say 'Way past cool', but that didn't work..." Lisa said, giggling a bit.
Anthony shook his head in disbelief and then sat back as he was handed a couple of sandwiches. "This is more like it..."
"What is, Anthony?" Julie-Su asked.
"This is what I was hoping to do on this vacation," Anthony explained. "No enemies to worry about...just relaxing and having fun."
"If you call nearly dive bombing into the ocean fun..." Knuckles said, giving Anthony a look.
"Knux...remind me to show you pictures of cliff divers on Earth," Anthony said. "They did dives like that into more dangerous water...WILLINGLY!"
"Yeesh..." Lazer said. "Even I'M not that balsy!"
"Well, hopefully I can get these Emeralds under control so I don't risk anything like that again..." Anthony explained. He then turned towards Sonic and Knuckles and asked. "You guys have gone super before...is there a trick to knowing when you're about to be drained?"
"It's different for each person, Anth..." Sonic said.
"Great...more surprises..." Anthony said. As he and the rest of the group started on their food, Anthony noticed that Aura had a strange look on her face. "Aura? Are you alright?"
"Oh, I'm...I'm fine..." Aura said. "I was talking with the others about my travels..."
"Anything in particular?" Anthony asked.
"Nothing, really..." Aura said. "Just...thinking back on old times..."
Anthony nodded in understanding, and decided not to press further. He sensed there was something more, but he didn't want to upset Aura.
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After a while of eating and conversing, the food was diminished and the group all began to clean up. Victoria and Cream even helped out as a way of repaying the group's kindness.
"Thank you for inviting us, all of you," Cream said, bowing a bit in thanks.
"Hey...it was our pleasure, Cream," Tails said. "Maybe we can meet up again later. We'll still be in Station Square for a while."
"Really?" Cream said, her eyes lighting up in glee.
"I can have Kyle call you guys later and invite Cream to join us, if you're not busy," Lisa explained.
"That would be great," Victoria said. "Well...we'd best get going. Until next time."
The group said their goodbyes to Victoria and Cream and watched as they walked off, with Cheese resting on Cream's shoulder. The group then started to get ready to go themselves, but all eyes turned towards Anthony as he got up slowly from his reclined position.
"Do you need help?" Red Sonic asked.
"I'll be fine..." Anthony said, finally standing up. "I've always been slow to get up from a comfortable position...partially due to reluctance to stop being comfortable."
"PERHAPS...I SHOULD ACCOMPANY YOU BACK TO THE HOTEL," Gamma repllied.
"No need...I'll be fine," Anthony said.
"Well...let's head back to our respective places to rest our heads," Ryan said. "Anth will probably need the rest the most..."
"Will you guys calm down about me already?!? Sheesh...not even my MOTHER was this anal..." Anthony said, a bit bitter.
Tyreke quietly laughed a bit at Anthony's plight and said, "Alright...let's get out of here before we're tempted to rag on him even further."
"So...what will be the plan for tomorrow?" Teila asked as the group started to walk from the beach.
"We'll probably have to play it by ear," Anthony said. "I'll probably be out of action for a while...but I don't want you guys to wait up on my account."
"So...we are each on our own then for tomorrow..." Rouge mused.
Tails then piped up. "I'll probably go to the workshop tomorrow to continue the repairs on the TGM then. I want to get that done before we leave the South Islands."
"Ah, we can discuss plans later," Sonic said. "Let's get out of here. The sand in my shoes is starting to irritate my feet!"
The group all nodded in agreement and headed off in different directions, each heading towards their respective domiciles.
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That evening, at Lisa's home, both Lisa and Aura were helping give their Chao baths to get the sand out of their fur. As they watched the Chao play in the water, Lisa decided to ask Aura something.
"Aura...why didn't you tell Anthony about what we were talking about at the beach?" Lisa asked. "I'm sure he would have understood...especially since you told Teila that he reminds you of Kharis."
"Yes...but that was the reason," Aura said. "I didn't want him to think I was latching on to him like that..."
"I doubt he would have thought that," Lisa said. "Anthony just has a kind heart...just think about what he had done for Amy."
"Yeah...I guess..." Aura said, not sounding as if she was paying attention.
Lisa looked over at Aura and asked, "You...still worried about returning to your Mobius a bit, aren't you?"
Aura sighed and said, "Mostly because of Ryndar here. I'm afraid of bringing him with me to my Mobius, and considering how much he and Hogi-San seem to like each other, I may leave him here so he safe. But...I don't want to abandon him like his original family did..."
Lisa nodded in understanding and said, "Just do what you think is best...Ryndar will understand." Lisa then lifted Hogi-San out of the tub and began drying him with a towel, illicting what sounded like tiny giggles from the small Sonichao. "Well...I'll leave you to finish up with Ryndar. I owe Kyle a bedtime story."
"Alright...good night, Lisa," Aura said.
As soon as Lisa and Hogi-San had left, Aura turned her attention back to Ryndar. After finishing cleaning him, she lifted him out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel to dry him. She then looked at Ryndar and said, "Oh, Ryndar...I wish I didn't have to decide this..." Ryndar looked up at Aura with curious eyes. Aura looked down at Ryndar, and saw in his eyes something she hadn't realized before...
"My goddess...what am I doing?" Aura said. "Ryndar is just like I was...an orphan. When my parents died, Kharis took care of me. Now...like Kharis...I'm taking care of Ryndar. I know Kharis would never have left for anywhere without me..." She then looked down at Ryndar and, knowing that Ryndar understood what she was saying, said, "Ryndar...the next place I'm going will be very dangerous. I'm not sure whether you'll be better off with me...or safe here with Lisa and Kyle. So...do you wish to stay here...or still go with me?"
Ryndar gave his answer the only way he could...by nuzzling up to Aura while still wrapped in the towel she had put him in. Aura smiled and responded by hugging the still covered Chao. "Okay...we go together then..."
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"He konked out as soon as his head hit the pillow."
Knuckles was talking to the group as soon as Anthony entered his own bedroom. Many were concerned about what had happened to Anthony, especially Sonic, since he was one of the few to go super prior to the events on the ARK.
"Will he be alright, Knuckles?" Mina asked.
"Yes," Knuckles said with certainty. "Sonic, you've been through this as well. It takes a while for the body to get used to exposure to the Chaos Emeralds."
"Yeah, Knux...but this is the first time the Emeralds actually ENTERED someone's body!" Sonic retorted.
"A-hem..." Lazer said, getting everyone's attention. "Forget about me?"
"Lazer...you didn't have the Servers in you," Sonic said. "Those red Emeralds in you aren't as powerful."
"Perhaps, but Anthony is different," Knuckles said. "From what I could see...it seems the Emeralds actually work well with Anthony's psionics. He can actually use the Emeralds to mimic the Descendancy Powers, without actually having to draw upon the Powers beforehand."
"Even so...someone should keep an eye on him for a while," Red Sonic said.
"I'll do that," Amy piped up.
"Amy, are you sure?" Sally said.
"I'm positive," Amy said. "I am a member of his family now, after all."
"Alright," Rebecca said, and the stood up. "Well...we'd better all get to bed as well. After this busy day, we could all use the rest."
"Especially me..." Tails said. "Since we're all doing our own thing tomorrow, I was going to try fixing the TGM again, and I could really use the rest."
"So you can get oiled on again?" Amy said, slyly.
"Oh, ha ha..." Tails said, and then got up and walked to his room.
The rest of the group took that as their cue and all walked off to their own rooms, saying their good nights. Amy, however, stopped on route to her room and stepped into Anthony's room. Anthony was still sleeping heavily, oblivious to Amy's approach. She then kissed Anthony lightly on the forehead and whispered, "Good night, Anthony," to him.
All members of the group had returned to the picnic site and the food was being prepared by Sonic, Victoria, and Mina. A couple of the others were taking care of something else...
Sally had propped a couple of blankets up to use as a makeshift recliner for Anthony. As for Amy...
"DESTINY, Anthony...don't SCARE us like that!!!" Amy said, showing both concern and anger for Anthony.
"I'm sorry, Ames..." Anthony said. "I'm...still kinda new to this Emerald business...and I don't get a ring counter like in the games. Would have been useful..."
Amy giggled a bit at that, calming down a bit in the process, and then said, "Well...you're just lucky that Metal and Gamma saved your butt!" She then turned to the two bots and said, "Thanks, guys."
"IT WAS MY DUTY," Gamma replied.
As the group began to talk among themselves, Lisa was getting out a couple of boxes from her knapsack. It was then that Aura saw Hogi-San getting excited for some reason.
"Lisa...why is Hogi-San reacting like that?" Aura asked.
Lisa giggled a bit and said, "Because Hogi-San knew that I brought his favorite food today...and I even brought enough for Ryndar and Cheese as well."
"Is that food that weird treat you had specially made for Hogi-San?" Cream asked.
"Yep..." Lisa said, and then opened the box...revealing a bunch of treats that looked like Chao sized chili dogs.
Sonic and Red Sonic noticed this as well and broke out laughing. "Oh, man..." Sonic said. "Trying to make Hogi-San look more like me, Lis?"
"Well...it wasn't my idea..." Lisa said. "I was getting some food and other Chao supplies at the Chao Garden, and the guy that ran the place had made these for me. He said that if Hogi-San was going to look like Sonic...it was only right that he ate like him as well."
"Does that mean Hogi-San will eat messily without any regard for good manners?" Sally snidely asked.
"HEY!!!" both Sonic and Red Sonic said, glaring at Sally.
Giggles came from the rest of the group as the food, various sandwiches, were passed out to the group. As many of the group ate, Aura became curious about one thing...
"Lisa..." Aura said as she watched the Chao eat, "I've been wondering...how easy is it to train Chao?"
After swallowing a bit of sandwich, Lisa said, "It's pretty easy...as you've probably noticed, Chao can understand common language. So they can understand most commands."
"Yeah, they're annoyingly like Pokémon that way..." Ryan said.
"Oh they are NOT, Bat..." Teila said.
"Pokémon?" Aura asked.
"It's a long story...maybe Anthony can show you later," Lisa said. "Actually, since they can understand most commands, they can eventually learn to talk as well. Watch this..." Lisa then turned towards Hogi-San. "Hogi-San?" Hogi-San looked towards Lisa as he swallowed a bit of the treat he was munching on, and Lisa pointed towards Cheese asking, "Hogi-San...who's that?"
Hogi-San looked and said, in a high pitched voice, "Fwiend..."
"And what's his name?" Lisa asked.
"Cheese..." Hogi-San said.
"That's so CUTE!!!" Aura squealed.
"Are you trying to get Hogi-San to say anything else?" Anthony asked.
"Well...I tried to get him to say 'Way past cool', but that didn't work..." Lisa said, giggling a bit.
Anthony shook his head in disbelief and then sat back as he was handed a couple of sandwiches. "This is more like it..."
"What is, Anthony?" Julie-Su asked.
"This is what I was hoping to do on this vacation," Anthony explained. "No enemies to worry about...just relaxing and having fun."
"If you call nearly dive bombing into the ocean fun..." Knuckles said, giving Anthony a look.
"Knux...remind me to show you pictures of cliff divers on Earth," Anthony said. "They did dives like that into more dangerous water...WILLINGLY!"
"Yeesh..." Lazer said. "Even I'M not that balsy!"
"Well, hopefully I can get these Emeralds under control so I don't risk anything like that again..." Anthony explained. He then turned towards Sonic and Knuckles and asked. "You guys have gone super before...is there a trick to knowing when you're about to be drained?"
"It's different for each person, Anth..." Sonic said.
"Great...more surprises..." Anthony said. As he and the rest of the group started on their food, Anthony noticed that Aura had a strange look on her face. "Aura? Are you alright?"
"Oh, I'm...I'm fine..." Aura said. "I was talking with the others about my travels..."
"Anything in particular?" Anthony asked.
"Nothing, really..." Aura said. "Just...thinking back on old times..."
Anthony nodded in understanding, and decided not to press further. He sensed there was something more, but he didn't want to upset Aura.
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After a while of eating and conversing, the food was diminished and the group all began to clean up. Victoria and Cream even helped out as a way of repaying the group's kindness.
"Thank you for inviting us, all of you," Cream said, bowing a bit in thanks.
"Hey...it was our pleasure, Cream," Tails said. "Maybe we can meet up again later. We'll still be in Station Square for a while."
"Really?" Cream said, her eyes lighting up in glee.
"I can have Kyle call you guys later and invite Cream to join us, if you're not busy," Lisa explained.
"That would be great," Victoria said. "Well...we'd best get going. Until next time."
The group said their goodbyes to Victoria and Cream and watched as they walked off, with Cheese resting on Cream's shoulder. The group then started to get ready to go themselves, but all eyes turned towards Anthony as he got up slowly from his reclined position.
"Do you need help?" Red Sonic asked.
"I'll be fine..." Anthony said, finally standing up. "I've always been slow to get up from a comfortable position...partially due to reluctance to stop being comfortable."
"PERHAPS...I SHOULD ACCOMPANY YOU BACK TO THE HOTEL," Gamma repllied.
"No need...I'll be fine," Anthony said.
"Well...let's head back to our respective places to rest our heads," Ryan said. "Anth will probably need the rest the most..."
"Will you guys calm down about me already?!? Sheesh...not even my MOTHER was this anal..." Anthony said, a bit bitter.
Tyreke quietly laughed a bit at Anthony's plight and said, "Alright...let's get out of here before we're tempted to rag on him even further."
"So...what will be the plan for tomorrow?" Teila asked as the group started to walk from the beach.
"We'll probably have to play it by ear," Anthony said. "I'll probably be out of action for a while...but I don't want you guys to wait up on my account."
"So...we are each on our own then for tomorrow..." Rouge mused.
Tails then piped up. "I'll probably go to the workshop tomorrow to continue the repairs on the TGM then. I want to get that done before we leave the South Islands."
"Ah, we can discuss plans later," Sonic said. "Let's get out of here. The sand in my shoes is starting to irritate my feet!"
The group all nodded in agreement and headed off in different directions, each heading towards their respective domiciles.
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That evening, at Lisa's home, both Lisa and Aura were helping give their Chao baths to get the sand out of their fur. As they watched the Chao play in the water, Lisa decided to ask Aura something.
"Aura...why didn't you tell Anthony about what we were talking about at the beach?" Lisa asked. "I'm sure he would have understood...especially since you told Teila that he reminds you of Kharis."
"Yes...but that was the reason," Aura said. "I didn't want him to think I was latching on to him like that..."
"I doubt he would have thought that," Lisa said. "Anthony just has a kind heart...just think about what he had done for Amy."
"Yeah...I guess..." Aura said, not sounding as if she was paying attention.
Lisa looked over at Aura and asked, "You...still worried about returning to your Mobius a bit, aren't you?"
Aura sighed and said, "Mostly because of Ryndar here. I'm afraid of bringing him with me to my Mobius, and considering how much he and Hogi-San seem to like each other, I may leave him here so he safe. But...I don't want to abandon him like his original family did..."
Lisa nodded in understanding and said, "Just do what you think is best...Ryndar will understand." Lisa then lifted Hogi-San out of the tub and began drying him with a towel, illicting what sounded like tiny giggles from the small Sonichao. "Well...I'll leave you to finish up with Ryndar. I owe Kyle a bedtime story."
"Alright...good night, Lisa," Aura said.
As soon as Lisa and Hogi-San had left, Aura turned her attention back to Ryndar. After finishing cleaning him, she lifted him out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel to dry him. She then looked at Ryndar and said, "Oh, Ryndar...I wish I didn't have to decide this..." Ryndar looked up at Aura with curious eyes. Aura looked down at Ryndar, and saw in his eyes something she hadn't realized before...
"My goddess...what am I doing?" Aura said. "Ryndar is just like I was...an orphan. When my parents died, Kharis took care of me. Now...like Kharis...I'm taking care of Ryndar. I know Kharis would never have left for anywhere without me..." She then looked down at Ryndar and, knowing that Ryndar understood what she was saying, said, "Ryndar...the next place I'm going will be very dangerous. I'm not sure whether you'll be better off with me...or safe here with Lisa and Kyle. So...do you wish to stay here...or still go with me?"
Ryndar gave his answer the only way he could...by nuzzling up to Aura while still wrapped in the towel she had put him in. Aura smiled and responded by hugging the still covered Chao. "Okay...we go together then..."
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"He konked out as soon as his head hit the pillow."
Knuckles was talking to the group as soon as Anthony entered his own bedroom. Many were concerned about what had happened to Anthony, especially Sonic, since he was one of the few to go super prior to the events on the ARK.
"Will he be alright, Knuckles?" Mina asked.
"Yes," Knuckles said with certainty. "Sonic, you've been through this as well. It takes a while for the body to get used to exposure to the Chaos Emeralds."
"Yeah, Knux...but this is the first time the Emeralds actually ENTERED someone's body!" Sonic retorted.
"A-hem..." Lazer said, getting everyone's attention. "Forget about me?"
"Lazer...you didn't have the Servers in you," Sonic said. "Those red Emeralds in you aren't as powerful."
"Perhaps, but Anthony is different," Knuckles said. "From what I could see...it seems the Emeralds actually work well with Anthony's psionics. He can actually use the Emeralds to mimic the Descendancy Powers, without actually having to draw upon the Powers beforehand."
"Even so...someone should keep an eye on him for a while," Red Sonic said.
"I'll do that," Amy piped up.
"Amy, are you sure?" Sally said.
"I'm positive," Amy said. "I am a member of his family now, after all."
"Alright," Rebecca said, and the stood up. "Well...we'd better all get to bed as well. After this busy day, we could all use the rest."
"Especially me..." Tails said. "Since we're all doing our own thing tomorrow, I was going to try fixing the TGM again, and I could really use the rest."
"So you can get oiled on again?" Amy said, slyly.
"Oh, ha ha..." Tails said, and then got up and walked to his room.
The rest of the group took that as their cue and all walked off to their own rooms, saying their good nights. Amy, however, stopped on route to her room and stepped into Anthony's room. Anthony was still sleeping heavily, oblivious to Amy's approach. She then kissed Anthony lightly on the forehead and whispered, "Good night, Anthony," to him.